


This Isn't Some Fairy Tale

by mellod89



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Elves, F/F, Gender Issues, Implied Mpreg, Implied Violence, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic-Users, Mpreg, One-Sided Relationship, Past Character Death, Secret Relationship, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-07-10 14:45:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 58,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6989761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellod89/pseuds/mellod89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin has been raised as the grandson of a bookshop owner, but what he doesn’t know is that he is lost Prince of the Kingdom of Sina. All he knows is that his Grandfather is overprotective and that he must hide his secret of being a nurturer or his inheritance of the bookshop will be taken from him when his Grandfather dies.</p>
<p>Erwin is the Elven Prince of Shinghanshina. When the Prince of Sina went missing, he lost his soulmate, and now that his Adar is fading after the death of his husband, Erwin must find a new mate before taking the thrown because it takes the power of the King and High Consort to keep the magic holding the kingdom together from dissolving. </p>
<p>After a chance meeting with Armin, Erwin can't help but kidnap and bring him back to his kingdom. Throw in Armin's evil stepfather who wants him dead, Erwin’s jealous uncle who wants to take the throne, and a marriage ritual that Erwin and Armin don’t have time to complete and they’ve got quite the mess on their hands. Loosely based on the fairy tales Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Once Upon A Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Finally after months of waiting, I bring you my Fairy Tale AU. Since I'm in school (only one more term after this until I graduate), updates may come slow, but I will try my hardest to post a chapter a week. Look for it either Friday or Saturday. I've marked this as underage because Armin is 16 when this all happens. Even though in this universe, 16 is considered the start of adulthood, in ours, it's quite the opposite. As always, if you see something that needs to be tagged but isn't, please let me know and I'll fix it right away. Also big thanks to Remmy for betaing this fic. Go send him love.

Every fairy tale usually starts out the same. There's some princess that needs rescuing because some evil witch has cursed her family to ruin. Along comes her prince to save the day, and they get married and live happily ever after. This tale, however, much of a fairy tale it is, is quite different. There are no princesses, and the evil witch is really just misunderstood. No one is cursed, and happily ever after doesn’t start with a marriage and true love.

This story begins with a christening. 

The King and Queen of Sina invited all the peoples of the land to their castle everyone— except for the Elves because the King distrusted them. He wanted to distance himself from their strange practices and customs. They let their nurturers act like men, something unheard of in the kingdom of Sina. He feared that his wife, who was half-Elven, would remember her people and wish to return to her homeland, and because he loved her dearly he wanted to do everything to keep her by his side. 

Much to his surprise, the King of the Woodland realm of Shinghanshina, along with his High Consort and their young Prince, arrived to the christening bearing gifts for the newborn princeling. They approached the babe, much to the King's displeasure, and let their young son present the child with their gifts.

The young Elven Prince paused, blushing brightly, and cried, "Ada! Ada! I think it's him! I've found my soul mate!"

The Prince's Ada knelt next to his son and the baby Prince and asked, "Are you sure?" 

“Yes! I feel warm and tingly in my heart the closer I get to him. This has to be him, Ada. It has to!” The elfling bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Settle down Erwin," his Adar chuckled. "If he is your mate, he is your mate. And what a wonderful time! A new birth and the joining of two kingdoms. Let us all rejoice and celebrate the future to come!"

Everyone in the room cheered except the King. He wanted nothing more to do with the Elves than he already did.

Then the High Consort gasped, going still, eyes rolling into the back of his head so that only the whites were showing. He opened his mouth and spoke in haunted, rasping tones, " _ Scattered petals caught on spider's web pass in shadow. Golden phoenix wings spread wide to catch a petal on winter's wind. At twilight's breaking that petal shall bloom, the phoenix will burn and the spider shall be caught in its web. Darkness falls and from the shadows, the rose shall choke the world of old. _ " As he finished, he collapsed into the arms of his husband.

The court muttered around them as a healer was called. When the High Consort came to, he had no recollection of had happened and insisted that he was fine, but his husband, the Elven King wished that they return to their kingdom immediately. Sina's Queen begged for them to stay as she was good friends with the High Consort and wished to make sure that he was well, but the Elven King wished to see his family home, where he could properly take care of his husband under the watchful eyes of the Royal Healer.

The court bid them farewell, and the King of Sina was pleased that he wouldn’t have to deal with them much longer. However, the prophecy that was spoken by the High Consort, for that's what it was, troubled him greatly as it spoke of someone killing his son and dooming the kingdom to ruin. How was he supposed to keep the prophecy from happening, and keep his son from being married to an Elf?

Later that evening, when all the well-wishers had long passed into a restful sleep, the King paced his child's room trying to figure out how to escape this predicament, and to make things worse, his son who was born a nurturer. If the child's secret was to be discovered there would be no way for his son to take the throne as those capable of giving birth could not inherit the throne. No one except for him, his wife, their healer, and his wife's handmaiden know the truth, and he was desperate to keep it that way.

The door to his child's room creaked open, and he turned thinking it was his wife, who should have been in bed resting. She hadn't fully recovered from giving birth several weeks prior and was often prone to dizzy spells. He relaxed, though, when he realized that it was the Queen's handmaiden.

The King asked him why he was there, and Nile, for that was his name, simply told him that he saw the light coming from the nursery, and wished to inspect it. He was glad that it was the King because he had an idea that would rid His Majesty of all of his troubles. Nile spoke of plan to have a trusted servant secret the young prince away in the night to raise him far from the reach of the elves and the prophecy, and when the prince was of age, there would hopefully be another child to take the throne and be named the heir to the kingdom, and the prince will remain "lost", and if no heir is named, the prince will be "found" and the kingdom will be so happy that a little thing like his nurturer status would be overlooked.

The King, pleased with the plan, enacted it immediately. That night, he placed his son in the care of his old tutor, who decided to retire to the edge of the kingdom to take over his family's bookshop. 

By morning, it was discovered the prince was missing, and the entire castle was in an uproar. An alarm was raised in the kingdom, and all of Sina’s walls were closed to prevent the kidnappers from escaping, but it was too late. The tutor and his family, along with the young prince had made their way beyond the gates of the capital and deep into the kingdom’s territory of Wall Maria. 

All homes and roads within and leading to Sina were searched for signs of the Prince, but weeks passed and there was no sign of him. The Queen wept for the loss of her child, but the King remained steadfast in his silence. No one except for the three involved in the plan would know the truth behind his son's disappearance. 

The news of the missing Prince and the closure of Sina's Walls to all outsiders spread throughout the kingdom and beyond the walls to the woodland realm. When the news was presented to the King of the Elves, they had a period of mourning not only for the loss of the kingdom of men but for their own Prince as he lost his future love. Prince Erwin wept into his Ada's robes lamenting that loss, but once his tears had dried and the period of mourning was over, no more tears were shed. Erwin vowed to find a new mate, even if it wasn't his perfect match. His parents noticed a shift in him. No longer was their child full of laughs and smiles. Erwin focused on his studies and on forgetting what could have been. He couldn't return to his carefree days of imagining what his future soul mate would turn out to be like. He could no longer afford to dream as a child once did. He would marry who he had to for the sake of the kingdom, even if he had to search the planet to find them.

But in his heart of hearts, he knew that the missing prince would one day return. Though everyone else felt that Sina's Prince was most likely now dead, he knew that his love would somehow find his way back to him. And it was this hope that he clung to as the years passed.


	2. There lived a Merchant and his Grandson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm, a birthday present, and two elves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add last chapter a link to my [writing tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mellodragonsuniverse). Feel free to chat me up about this fic as well as my others. Thanks again to Remmy for the beta.

On the night of a great and terrible storm, Grandfather made his way back from Karanese to Trost through the thick woods. The wind howled as he and his horse were pelted with thick sheets of rain that soaked through his cloak and chilled him to the bone. Grandfather could barely see the path in front of him through the rain and the overhanging branches, but that was the least of his worries. At every rumble of thunder and crash of lightning, Pepper, his fearful horse, would startle and buck trying to escape what felt like impending doom. 

"Stupid horse! Go straight!" Grandfather pulled on the reigns trying to urge his horse in the direction of the path, but the horse refused to budge and continued to veer off course into the brush and brambles. 

Of all the times his horse refused to listen to his orders it  _ had  _ to be in the middle of a storm. He had planned to be back home by now but was delayed when the owner of King's Men Bookshop in Karanese decided to treat him to a full dinner when he really should have just dropped off the books he meant to trade and left. But now he was regretting not taking the offer from the owner's wife to stay the night in their spare room to wait out the storm. He thought he'd be back in his bed by now, but that dream drifted further away as his horse drifted further off course at each crash of thunder and bolt of lightning. 

"Whoa, there Pepper!" His horse bucked at the boom of thunder and took off at a gallop taking him further into the woods from the path. He pulled on the reins again, but Pepper refused to listen. The horse was too frightened to obey his master and continued on his course.

"I said stop!" At that instant, Grandfather could see the edge of a cliff. Frantically, Grandfather tugged and cried trying to get Pepper to change directions, but Pepper continued on the collision course with the cliff. "Pepper, no!"

Then to Grandfather’s relief, a man wearing a hooded cloak rode alongside them and forced Pepper to change directions. Another smaller man rode up next to Grandfather's horse and called for him to give him the reigns. Grandfather complied, and the man was able to slow Pepper's gait to a complete stop. 

"Thank you! I thought that was going to be the end of me,” the older man cried.

"No thanks needed. It's what any decent person would do," the larger rider dismissed. "I'm just glad you happened to be riding near where we made camp for the night. Let's tie up our horses and get out of this storm. It wouldn't do to rescue you now only for you to die later from fever." 

They steered their horses towards where they made camp for the night, tying them up to a tree next to a cave. Grandfather shivered as the wind howled around them. He stepped inside the mouth of the cave to find a fire was burning happily away. He stripped off his outer cloak, which was sopping wet with rain, and settled in next to the fire. 

"Here, this should warm you up." The smaller of the two men handed Grandfather a flask. He took a sip, and the fiery burn of whiskey hit the back of his throat and he coughed. As his coughs subsided, the heat of the liquid pooled into his stomach warming him from the inside. 

"Not to your liking?" the smaller man teased. 

Grandfather coughed again. "I just wasn't expecting it."

"Well, what would you expect when someone hands you a flask?" He snatched it back and took a swig.

"Levi be nice to your elders,” the taller of the two chided.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Levi glared, but the other man stared him down trying to communicate something. Levi eventually conceded and turned away. 

"Levi, remember where we are now." The other man turned away from his companion. "Forgive my friend, we’ve been traveling a very long time, and we wish to be home."

Grandfather stared at them curiously. "Where are you traveling from?" 

"A long ways away," was all the taller man would mention.

Grandfather was struck with a thought. Just because these strangers saved his life did not mean that he was safe with them. They could be bandits for all he knew. Subtly he shifted towards the mouth of the cave.

“Oi, we're not going to kill or rob you it that's what you're thinking," Levi grumbled. "We could have just let your horse throw you off that cliff then stole your stuff."

"Levi,” the other man all but growled. 

Levi shrugged. "What?" 

The other man just stared at Levi blank faced. Levi met his eyes refusing to back down. The other man just tilted his head, and Levi turned away grumbling under his breath. Grandfather didn’t know what to make of their little exchange. It appeared that the smaller man deferred to the other as if he was a subordinate. Maybe they were businessmen like himself traveling for work? 

"So what brings the two of you out during this bad weather? I was traveling back from Karanese where I go to trade books when I got caught in the storm. Are you traveling for work?” 

The two men glanced at each other quickly. “Something like that,” the taller one said evasively.

Grandfather looked between them and shifted. “Forgive me, but I never did introduce myself. I’m Klaus Arlert. I run a bookshop with my grandson. I caught your companion’s name, but I’ve been remiss in asking for yours.”

The taller man nodded his head in acquiescence. “I’m Erwin.” 

“I see you’re a man of few words,” Grandfather pointedly stated. Levi shifted glaring at him. Grandfather took this as a sign not to pry and held up his hands in surrender. “That’s alright. It’s not my business.”  

“No, it’s not,” Levi gave a clipped reply. 

Silence fell between them. 

Grandfather was at a loss at what to do or say. He’d never been in the position of having to spend time with virtual strangers that refused to speak. They clearly didn’t trust him, nor he them, but for the moment, they needed to share the same space until the storm blew over. 

“Are you hungry? We have some food that we can spare if you are,” Erwin offered. 

“Thanks, but I had quite a large meal before I set out. Which is probably the reason why I got caught in the storm. I have to thank you again for saving me. I don’t know what my grandson would do if I never returned. He’s still quite young, and he has no other family left.”

“It’s no problem,” Levi grunted. 

“There must be something I can do to repay you?” 

“We require nothing,” Erwin stated folding his arms.  "It's enough to know that your grandson will be able to see you again."

"Then I must ask you to come by my shop in Trost to meet him. He'll be happy to see the men who saved the life of his old grandfather." He looked at them, eyes bright with hope. 

Levi scowled.

Erwin smiled. "Of course, we'll come and visit your shop. It's actually on our way.”

"Great, then it's settled. My shop is near the gate. Just ask for Arlert's Books and someone will be able to point you in the right direction." Grandfather smiled 

"We'll be sure to stop by." Erwin returned his grin. "We should probably try to get some sleep. It's getting late, and it doesn’t look like the storm is going to let up anytime soon."

"You’re right. Good night." Grandfather said. 

Levi just grunted and laid down with his back to the fire. Erwin nodded his head and did the same. 

The old man lay down and closed his eyes. When he awoke the next morning, the two men were gone, and in their place was left a golden feather. 

***

"Done," Armin said wiping his hands on a dry piece of cloth. He'd finished with all of the dusting, sweeping, and wiping down of all of the surfaces. Not that it really needed it with how often he and his Grandfather cleaned the shop, at least according to him. His Grandfather was of a very different opinion. 

_ "I refuse to own a dusty old bookshop. I may be old, but as long as these bones have life in them, this shop will be cleaned from top to bottom twice a day."  _

Armin would just nod his head. There was no use getting into an argument over the keeping of the store. It wasn't like he actually owned the place.

"Yet," he muttered under his breath. 

As soon as his Grandfather handed over the shop to him, he was going to make some major changes, not that anything really needed changing. He was just tired of having to do everything exactly to his Grandfather's standards. He was 16-years-old and by rights was old enough to learn a trade and get married in some circles, but he was barely trusted to mind the shop the few days it took Grandfather to trade his books. Armin spent days trying to convince Grandfather that he could be trusted to be left alone to run things. 

Though Grandfather finally relented, to Armin’s delight, Grandfather requested that their neighbor the tailor from across the way to pop in and check on Armin at least twice a day despite the fact he wouldn’t be more than a two day’s ride away. Grandfather would have pushed for more, but the tailor decided to take pity on Armin after seeing the sour look on the poor boy’s face. The tailor said that he'd be too busy to check on Armin more than once a day due to the upcoming arrival of the Royal Court and their annual ball that was held in honor of the missing Prince. Grandfather reluctantly agreed, and Armin sighed in relief.

Armin turned when he heard the chime of the bell on the door to tell the customer that they were closed, but stopped short when he realized that it was just Connie and Sasha bringing him dinner. 

Armin smiled and waved them back to the living quarters. "Just give me a minute. I need to lock up. Feel free to start without me." He picked up the key ring that was kept on a hook behind the counter and walked over to the door to lock it. 

He closed the curtains on all of the shop windows, blew out the candles he lit as the daylight passed, and finally locked the door that separated the shop from where he and his Grandfather lived. A wave of heat enveloped him as he walked down the hallway to the space that housed the kitchen. He sat at the small table across from Connie and watched as Sasha tended to the small pot of stew she’d brought with her. 

"It'll be ready in just a moment. Connie's mother also packed some fresh rolls." She turned and stood from her hunched position over the pot, then scowled when she saw Connie munching on one of the rolls. 

"What? I'm hungry!" He pouted. 

"So are the rest of us, and you don't see me or Armin eating any of the food." She crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize her point. 

Armin smirked. "Oh really? Then why is there a bit of gravy on the side of your mouth?"

Sasha's eyes widened and cheeks tinted rosy as her hand flew to her mouth to wipe the light brown stain. Armin and Connie laughed, and Sasha turned to hide her face. 

“I had to make sure it was warm enough,” she mumbled. 

"And how many spoonfuls did that take?" Connie teased. 

"Leave her alone. Just be glad the she didn't eat the whole pot." Armin smirked.

"That was one time!" She spun around, hands on her hips, and glared. "And if I recall correctly, you and Connie were suffering from stomach aches after eating most of the cookies that were supposed to be for the fair." 

“Can you blame us?" Connie lamented. "Mom's cookies are really addicting."

Sasha rolled her eyes turning back to the pot to give it another stir. "Anyway, it looks like a storm is coming in tonight. Do you think Grandfather's all right?"

"I hope so." Armin frowned. "Knowing him he'd try to outride the storm so he wouldn't be delayed."

"On Pepper?" Connie laughed. "He'd be lucky to try to outrun a tortoise on him! You know how spooked he gets at the tiniest things. During a storm, it's even worse with all the thunder and lightning striking every few minutes. Didn't you have to bring him—Hey!" 

Sasha hit Connie over the head with the wooden spoon when she saw Armin close in on himself. Armin’s arms crossed hugging his chest tightly as he nibbled his bottom lip. 

"He's probably just fine, ‘Min,” she soothed. “Grandfather is a smart capable man. He probably found a safe place to camp for the night to wait out the storm. He'll be back sooner that you think.” 

Armin nodded his head. “You’re probably right, Sasha. He’ll be here bright and early complaining about how the storm kept him.”  

"I hope not," Connie mumbled and Sasha hit him over the head again. "Hey, would you stop hitting me?!" 

“I will when you learn to think before you speak." Sasha glared. 

"I only meant that if he didn’t come back by tomorrow night the three of us can sneak out like we planned!" 

Sasha hit him again. "You’ve spoiled it!" 

"No, I didn't! It's not like I told him about the—"

"Shh!" Sasha growled.

Connie gulped.

Armin rolled his eyes. "Not this again. I told you that Grandfather would never let me go to that stupid ball. Not only is it beyond the pavilion, but it's going to be filled with all of those nobles, and you know how much he hates them. He’d kill me if he found out that I was anywhere near that thing. I'm not going.”

Armin's voice was firm leaving no room for argument. 

"Come on ‘Min!" Connie whined. "Live a little. Plus, who said that he has to ever find out? What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"You want me to lie to him!?" Armin looked at him pained. 

"Not lie per se. Just not tell."

Armin glared. 

Connie grinned and shrugged. "What's the worst thing that could happen?" 

"Oh, I don't know. We could get caught, thrown in prison, or Grandfather could find out. Then he'd never leave me alone even after he dies. He’d haunt me for the rest of my life. Then once I’m dead, he'll follow me around in the afterlife. Besides, it's not like I could go with any of the clothes I have.” He looked down at his well-worn clothes. "I doubt that anyone would let me in wearing clothes like these." 

Connie waved his hand dismissively. "Stop being so dramatic, ‘Min. You have to grow a pair sometime. Or are you secretly a nurturer?" 

Armin gasped then glared. "You know I'm not!" At least, Armin hoped he hadn’t figured out his secret. 

"I think it's sweet that he still listens to his elders. It shows how much he respects them." Sasha removed the pot from the fire and set it on a lump of cloth in the center of the table. "Eat up."

Silence fell between them as they dished out their food and began to eat. Armin's eyes fell to the lump of cloth the small pot was sitting on. It was oddly thick for a pile of scrap cloth that he used to clean with. He doubted that there was a need for that much cloth to be sitting underneath the pot. 

"What’s under the rags?" 

"Nothing!" Both Sasha and Connie responded too fast for it to be the truth. 

"Really? So if I removed the rags nothing would be underneath them?” Armin questioned with a smile on his face, eyebrow raised.

"We should just give it to him. You've said enough as it is already." Sasha sighed removing the pot and cloth to reveal a package poorly wrapped in brown paper and twine.

"Happy birthday!" they cheered. 

"You guys know it's not until tomorrow." He grinned, eyes alight with excitement as he picked up the package giving it a shake to try and guess what lay hidden in its depths.

"We figured that you getting it early wouldn't hurt." Connie smiled. "Go ahead and open it."

"What is it?" Armin started untying the twine.

"You'll see soon enough." Sasha leaned over the table, fingers tapping rapidly on the wooden surface.

With the twine removed, Armin was free to peel back the layers of brown paper to reveal a mass of dark blue fabric much nicer than anything he’d ever owned. He picked up the first item revealing it to be a long coat with brass buttons and bits of black lace on the cuffs and collar. "You got me dress clothes? What on earth would I use these for? How did you even pay for them?" Armin’s face filled with lines of disbelief and puzzlement. 

"Don’t worry about the cost. Mom made them from some leftover fabric from a recent job. Her boss let her have it free of charge," Connie supplied.

"And as for what you can use it for, I heard there was this ball coming up that you may be interested in attending." Sasha grinned.

Armin groaned, banging his head on the table.

"Come on, ‘Min! It's going to be fun. Just picture it, all of these pretty ball gowns and men dressed in their finest suits! The music, the dancing! We may even meet the King himself!" Sasha stood a flitted about the room poorly imitating how she imagined the nobles would dance.

"More like you want to go to taste all of that fancy food you keep drooling over whenever you come back from running errands in the part of town." Armin added.

"Well, can you blame me? It smells soooo good," she moaned. "I'd never be able to taste anything that good as a butcher’s assistant. It's not fair!" 

"Life isn't fair, and I already told you guys that I can't go." Armin stood folding the clothes and putting them back in their wrapping. "I appreciate the gift, but with Grandfather on his way back… I just don't want to risk it." 

"Then those clothes will just go to waste," Sasha cried. 

"Yeah, and Mom worked on these in her spare time, which took weeks to do since she couldn't waste a scrap. I guess I'll just have to tell her that you don't want them." Connie reached slowly across the table to take the clothes, but Armin stopped him before he could, letting out a pain filled groan, sitting back down heavily in his chair. 

Connie and Sasha exchanged knowing glances. 

Armin slammed his head on the table. "You guys are being completely unfair you know.” Armin sat up and looked across the table at his traitorous friends. "Fine. I'll go." 

Connie and Sasha high fived. 

Armin rolled his eyes. "But we can't be there for too long. Grandfather will be back anytime, and I'd really like to be home before he arrives." 

"Yes!" Connie punched the air. "We can get ready at my place. Mom will want to make sure everything fits right. She was working off of your last measurements from like three years ago and wasn't sure if you've grown since then. Not like you have. Tiniest man ever!" 

Armin glared.

"Don’t look at me! It's not my fault that you're so small. I'm in the same boat you are." Connie crossed his arms.

"But you're a nurturer. You're supposed to be small," Armin growled. 

Sasha slammed her spoon on the table. "Stop fighting about your shared fate in being short. We're supposed to be planning for the ball."

Armin and Connie glared at each other.

"Boys do I need to get Mrs. Springer involved?" Sasha crossed her arms. The boys muttered shared nos. “Then I suggest that the both of you make up so we can discuss the plan.” 

Armin shook his head. “I still don’t know how any of this is going to work. Do either of you have clothes?” He fidgeted in his seat uncomfortable with the thought of sneaking into the party. 

Connie rolled his eyes. “Of course, we do. Mom altered some old stuff to fit us and made them look pretty decent if you ask me.”

“And because Dad has an exclusive contract with the Winter Palace, we can get in by passing as delivery staff. We can stash our clothes with the deliveries, then once we get inside we can change and blend in with the party goers. It’ll be perfect,” Sasha added. 

Connie and Sasha continued to ramble on about their grand scheme, but all Armin could think about was how much trouble they were going to get him in. 

*******

Levi could tell that Erwin was angry by the fact that he chose to walk instead of riding his horse. Whenever Erwin needed to release his pent up aggression, he did it by means of physical activity. 

“You know you’re slowing us down, right?” Levi grumbled. 

“We shouldn’t have left him like that.” 

Levi rolled his eyes. “No use crying about it now.  Besides wasn’t it you that decided that we needed to leave before the old man woke?”

Erwin sighed. “Yes, but that was because your big mouth was going to blow everything. You saw how he reacted to us, and he didn’t even see our ears. How do you think he would have reacted if he did? You know we can’t trust humans, no matter how nice they seem.”

Levi stared at him out of the corner of his eye. “If you’re so worried about spilling our secret, why in the hell are you so worried about leaving him behind?”  

“It’s just a feeling,” Erwin murmured. 

“You and your fucking feelings,” Levi grumbled.

“They’ve never steered me wrong before,” Erwin said pointedly. “Ada said–”

“Yeah, yeah, your Ada said to trust in them and blah, blah, blah. Just get on your horse. At this rate, we’ll get to Trost when it’s so crowded that it’ll be impossible to keep our ears hidden.” 

Erwin listened thoughtfully to Levi as he climbed onto his horse. “Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” 

Levi stared at Erwin incredulous. “To be caught in Trost, on the birthday of this precious missing Prince, when they have laws that allow for Elves to be killed on sight? You must have a death wish,” Levi muttered the last bit under his breath, but Erwin heard him anyway.

“It’s just a feeling.”

“Your feelings are going to get you killed one day.” Levi glanced askance at the other Elf.

Erwin just ignored him and urged his horse into a full gallop. Levi followed suit to keep pace. They really were behind schedule and needed to get moving. 


	3. The Grandson caught the eye of a noble who wished to marry him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bored noble, an angry Queen, and a dying King.

The tailor bobbed his head for what seemed like to Jean for the millionth time since they arrived at the shop. His mother and father were all gracious smiles and kind words to the simpering idiot, promising to request his services at their private residence instead of venturing out among the commoners. Jean rolled his eyes. What good is having a title among the nobility if they didn’t venture out among the common folk every now and again? Titles really only mattered to those that wished to rise above their station or to those that wished to keep the rabble out of the court. Jean found it more amusing than anything to watch as commoners tried to worm their way into the good graces of the nobles while the nobles did their best to keep them at arm’s length, but all Jean really cared about was his ability to flash his title around to get what he wanted.

“Again, I thank Your Graces for coming directly to my humble shop.” The tailor bowed again. “Your purchases will take top priority, and I’ll see to them myself.”

“I should hope so seeing as how this is the third time you’ve been delayed in making our garments. I would expect better seeing as how you are the owner of this shop.” Jean’s father looked down his nose at the poor tailor. “Why else would we pay you an exorbitant amount only to receive shoddy work?”

“I-I didn’t mean—”

“Oh stop making the poor man sweat, dear.” Jean’s mother hit her husband with her fan. “I’m sure that our clothes for the ball will be even better than last years.” She smiled at the tailor. “We’ll be off now. Please have the alterations finished by noon. I would hate to have a last minute disaster to happen like how Lady Hamburg, unfortunately, wore the year’s previous dress because her tailor accidently tore the fabric. You wouldn’t do such a thing would you?” She asked tone sickeningly sweet.

Sweat beaded on the poor man’s forehead. “N-No Your Grace! I take the utmost care in everything that I make.”

“Good. Let’s go darlings. We still have so much to do today.” She turned and waited by the door.

“Oh! Let me get that for you!” The tailor rushed past them to open the door and bowed low as they left the shop.

Jean breathed deeply as he exited the shop. Smells of freshly baked goods and cooked meats clouded the air. His stomach rumbled, but he ignored it knowing that his mother would never allow them to eat amongst the commoners.

“They have diseases you know,” she would say.

Jean just rolled his eyes as he stepped into the carriage. He looked out to the street through the window as the door closed behind them. Children ran wild through the streets swaths of ribbon fluttering behind him. The adults watched on with grim smiles knowing full well that the celebration of the royal family coming to town was not as happy as the children thought it to be. The King and his family traveled to each major city to commemorate the search for their missing son finally ending their travels in Trost where the missing Prince was born at the Winter Palace.

On the night of his birthday, a grand ball would be held where all of those honored enough to receive an invitation would pay their respects directly to the family. This was an honor the Kirstein family received every year because the head of the Kirstein family was longtime friends with the King. This was an honor the heir to the Kirstein family took for granted.

Jean had been going to these balls from the time he was old enough to walk on his own, but now he was tired of them— tired of the simpering idiots, tired of his parents’ expectations of finding a nice noble bearer to wed. He would rather sit through a lecture about the evil of those that live outside the walls than be forced to attend another one. The only saving grace was that he could see his closest friends Marco and Marco’s sister Mikasa. Any event where he could spend any length of time with the two of them was worth it, even if it meant he had to spend hours enduring the clingy factions of those in the merchant class wishing to rise above their status by marrying into one of the more affluent families.  

“Are you even listening, Jean?” His mother’s voice startled him out of his train of thought.

“Yes,” he responded automatically.

“Then what was I talking about?”

“Lady What’s Her Face was caught cheating on her husband with their gardener, or something like that,” he shrugged his shoulders.

His father snickered.

His mother scowled, “That’s not funny, Adolfus! What good is it trying to talk to him if all he does is stare out the window?”

“Leave him be, my love. He’s still a boy and can’t be expected to pay attention to idle gossip.”

“But what if it’s true? What if the King is going to announce that the Princess is looking for suitors?” She clenched her hands in her lap, bunching the fabric of her skirts.

“Then, we’ll worry about it when it’s announced. Until then, let the boy be.”

Jean stopped listening to the conversation and returned to looking out the carriage window. They passed by Wall Rose Inn and Tavern, and he saw a blond instructing his two friends on how to do what appeared to be a waltz outside the doors. They tripped and knocked into some patrons causing a commotion. A short plump woman with long dark hair burst from the doors and yelled at them. The bald one and the girl looked especially cowed, but the blond said something, and it seemed to pacify all involved. He wished he could have seen what happened after the woman went back inside. The blond seemed especially nice, and he wouldn’t have minded getting to know him. He sighed, and continued staring out at the people rushing about.

Maybe he could come back to the tavern to see if the blond was a frequent patron.

***

Nile hated this time of year. All it did was bring up thoughts of those long dead and who should be forgotten, but as the Queen, he had to make nice with the people of the realm. It wouldn’t do to have them hate their rulers. It only caused death and destruction for the aristocracy, and that was the complete opposite of what he wanted. No, he needed the people to trust him implicitly. How else was he going to make the changes needed to better the kingdom?

“It’s so good to be back in Trost, isn’t it my pet?” Darrius looked down at Nile, warmth filling his eyes, as they walked along the terrace.

“Yes, my love. It’s so beautiful this time of year,” Nile simpered. “I do wish that we could visit more than once a year, but I fear for the safety of our children. I’ve heard that Elves have found a secret way into our walls. Who knows what they plan on doing. They could be trying to take revenge for what happened to the Prince all those years ago, but you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to our children would you?” He clung to Darrius’ arms, eyes wide and fearful.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about a thing. I have an ample amount of guards surrounding the palace. No one who shouldn’t be here will be getting in anytime soon. What happened with Armin was unfortunate, but unavoidable. I wish there was some way to bring him back to the palace before we crown Marco as King, but that’s just not possible.” He pet Nile’s cheek and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. Nile suppressed a gag. “But let’s not worry about any of that now. We have a ball to get ready for.”

Nile plastered on his most convincing smile. “Yes, we do. I can’t wait to show you my new set of robes. I hope you like them.”

“What I’ll like even more is what you’ll be wearing under those robes.” He grinned lecherously. “It has been quite some time since our last coupling. I wish for you to come to my room tonight.”

“Do you think that wise, my love? The healer said—”

“That I’m perfectly fine as long as I take my tonic, which I took this morning with breakfast. Now you will come to me tonight.” He gripped Nile’s arm tightly, leaving no room for argument.

“Yes, husband,” he murmured. “I should leave you to go prepare.” Nile curtsied, and walked away as fast as politely possibly from his husband. Soon he’d find a way to do away with all of this. Soon he’d be the one in control.

***

Of all of the patients that Petra visited along with Healer Jaeger during her training, it was King Pixis that was the most frustrating. As the Elven King, Pixis ignored their orders in favor of doing what he pleased, even when those orders helped him to extend his life a few more months, but what do you expect when the King is as stubborn as a mule?

“Please, Your Majesty, go back to bed. Your brother will deal with the Wolf Walkers.” Grisha turned to Shadis, for confirmation. Petra looked at the three men in the room and wished she was assigned to a different healer to shadow. Everyone in her class told her how lucky she was to be working with the Grisha Jaeger, the head of the healer’s academy. The only students that were eligible to train under him had to be at the top of the senior class, and he usually only picked one. If only they knew what being picked entailed, they wouldn’t envy her as much.  

“He’s right, Pixis. Listen to Jaeger. I may be younger than you by a century, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of handling a minor squabble.” Shadis crossed his arms and turned up his nose.

“It’s attitudes like that that will make things worse instead of better. Besides, the head of their clan will think that I’m disrespecting them by sending someone else in my stead. It will be better for all in the long run if I see to this myself,” he huffed and walked across the room to dig in a trunk that sat against the opposite wall.

“Maybe you should—” Petra tried to speak, but the King’s brother talked over her.  

“Pixis you are in no condition to be doing any of this. I’m sure that they’ll understand if I go in your place considering your condition. It’s best for everyone if their King didn’t die before his son could assume the throne,” he grumbled.

“What’s best is the other woodland peoples see that the Elves are still strong during this time of turmoil.” Pixis stood and glided across the room to Shadis. “The Wolf Walkers are testing our boundaries for any sign of weakness. If I don’t show up, that will give them grounds to try to move into our territories. We cannot let that happen as you know very well what they do to those whose land they steal. Now will someone please help me find my—GAH!” The king crumpled to his knees panting harshly.

“Your Majesty!” Petra rushed to his side and helped him to bed, tucking him into the blankets. “That’s it, this conversation is over! It’s causing too much stress.” She glared at Shadis then turned back to the King. “And you really need rest, Your Majesty. I would implore you to listen to the advice of your healer, and at the very least reschedule the meeting for another time if you must be there. You’re in no condition to see them now. You’ll only give them the confirmation they need to move ahead with their plans.” She finished with her hands on her hips.

Silence reigned between them, and it finally hit her that she just scolded the King and Prince of Shinghanshina. She blushed.

“And who exactly are you?” Shadis growled.

“She is Healer Trainee Petra Ral, my new apprentice, and you will listen to her orders as if they came straight from me,” Grisha intoned, voice steady and firm. “Now she’s right. In your current state, Your Majesty, you’ll only bolster their reserve. It would be best if you met them another day. You have at most a year, and we need every bit of that time to allow for Erwin to find his mate.”

Pixis sighed, “You’re right, Grisha. Shadis have a messenger sent to reschedule the meeting. Give them any excuse you deem plausible.”

“Is that all I’m good for now? Your errand boy?” Shadis stood at his full height, left eye twitching, veins pulsing.

“You will do whatever is required of you for the good of the kingdom, now do as you’re told. This cannot be delayed any further.” The brothers stared at each other down, a battle of wills being fought with just their eyes. Then Petra blinked, and it was over. Shadis bowed his head in deference to his older brother and stomped out of the room. Pixis slumped into his pillows, finally giving up his last bit of strength.

“You’ve done the right thing.” Grisha knelt on the floor to check his patient over.

“Have I?”

“Only time will tell,” Grisha said simply.

“Time is something of a luxury I do not have,” he sighed.

“Then follow our orders. If you don’t, you’ll only fade faster. Now, what was it that you were searching for so frantically?”

“Mike’s scrying mirror. I could have sworn that it was last on my desk, but I’ve seemed to have misplaced it. Petra, was it?”

Petra jumped at being addressed directly. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Would you be a dear and check my desk again to see if it’s there?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” She turned and walked over to the desk. It was covered in scrolls and other odds and ends, but there lying plainly in the center of his desk was a gold-encased round mirror with a short handle. She picked it up and turned it over, noting engraving made up of swirls and flourishes that formed the symbol of their kingdom, phoenix wings. “Is this it?” She held it up as she walked over to the bed.

“Yes! Where was it?” He eagerly held out his hands and snatched it away from her when she came in range.

“It was buried under some scrolls,” her voiced hitched slightly at the lie, and Grisha looked at her pointedly. “Why did you need it?”

“I wanted to check on my son, to see his progress. He’s been gone for three months. Surely he’s found someone by now.” He smiled, hand stroking the mirror’s surface.

“Then we’ll take our leave. We’ll be back to check on you later tonight. Petra?” Grisha turned and headed out of the room, Petra trailing behind him. The doors of the room were firmly shut behind them by the guards standing just outside of the King’s door.  “Where was the mirror really located?” Grisha wasted no time in questioning her.

She swallowed thickly. “I could see it as soon as I was close enough to the desk. What does this mean?”

“You’re the student, remember what you’ve learned about fading, and tell me.”

If the mirror was in plain sight, and she was only a few steps away from the desk when she saw it… She gasped. “He’s losing his sight.”

“Yes.”

“He’s fading much faster than anticipated.”

“Yes. At best we can hope for late spring.” He pursed his lips, the only sign that he was troubled by this revelation.

She stopped in the middle of the hallway. “What do we do? We have to tell him! Tell Shadis even.”

Grisha rounded on her and pulled her into an alcove. “And what will that do? Cause more panic, more stress? It’s best if he doesn’t know.”

“But—”

“What do you think will happen when it’s discovered that Erwin’s time to find a mate and complete the bond is much shorter than anticipated? Nothing good, I assure you. Pixis is a symbol of stability, and as long as everyone believes that he has more time, we have hope that Erwin will find his mate in time, and the kingdom will pass into his hands peacefully. Our only job is to extend his life as much as possible, and to keep him comfortable, is that clear Healer Trainee Ral?”

“Yes, sir,” she ground out.

“And I trust that you will tell no one?”

“Yes, sir.”

He searched her eyes for the truth, and only when he found it did he relax. “Good,” he sighed. “I know this isn’t ideal, but it’s for the best. Now come, we have more patients to see.” He walked out of the alcove at a brisk pace.

Petra followed behind him wondering who it was truly best for that she kept the dying King’s secret.


	4. On the night of a great ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ball, two rescues, and a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I apologize for the lateness of this post. It was a busy week and weekend for me, and unfortunately, I can't guarantee that next week's post will be on time either. School has been kicking my butt, but the good news is that Monday marks the halfway mark for the term! 
> 
> This chapter is unbetaed so all mistakes are mine.

Armin tugged at the collar of his shirt as he stared himself down in the floor length mirror. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have thought that he was born a noble.

His shoulder-length locks were pulled back into a ponytail and secured with a length of black ribbon tied into a bow making him look more mature. He wore a slightly loose fitting black shirt that he tucked into dark blue trousers. Over the shirt, he wore a blue vest that was made of the same material as the pants with black pearl like buttons down the front. Everything fit him rather well for him not being measured beforehand.

He picked up the final piece of clothing and shrugged it on. It was a knee-length coat made of what appeared to be made from blue almost black crushed velvet. The cuffs and collar were edged with the fine bits of black lace, with the same black pearl like buttons acting as cuff links.  The front of the coat was lined with a column of plain black buttons.

 _Made from scraps my ass_.

The fabric that made his coat had to have been worth the amount to feed a small family for the entire winter. The thought of the best tailor in Trost parting with any of it, including the scraps, for free was so farfetched that the only way Connie’s mother could have gotten it was if she stole it, but that was even crazier than being gifted such expensive fabric. Mrs. Springer bruised Connie’s hide for stealing a piece of candy from one the shops in town. A woman like that would never stoop so low as to take something to make a birthday present.

“You look amazing Armin,” Sasha gushed coming up behind him. “Give me a spin!”

“Why?” Armin looked at her through the mirror.

“Because that’s what you do when you show off clothes. Now spin.” She made a circular motion with her hand.

Armin sighed but complied with her wishes.

“Ooo! You look perfect!” she squealed, hopping up and down while clapping.

“You know, for someone that’s more interested in hunting illegally than the latest fashion, you are way too excited for all of this.”

“You know that the only reason why it’s illegal for me to hunt is because I can get pregnant.” She glared and poked him the shoulder. “I refuse to stop doing something I love just because I had the misfortune of being born with the wrong bits, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy dressing up once in awhile.”

Armin rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just saying that it’s a surprise that you of all people actually want to wear a big dress and get all fancy because I remember when your mother tried to make you take those lessons on nurturer etiquette, you purposefully rolled around in a pig sty to prove a point.”

She grinned. “It was worth it. Now hurry up. You need to take that jacket off and put these on over your clothes. Connie’s waiting for us with the carts.” She handed him oversized work clothes the delivery boys wore.

“How are you going to put these clothes on over that dress? There’s no way they’re going to fit.” He looked at her very puzzled. She wore a plainly adorned maroon dress, with capped sleeves on the bodice and a full skirt that swallowed her already slender form.

“Easy. I’m not.” She grinned, smile and eyes comically wide.

Armin feared for his life and backed away from her slowly.

“Don’t look at me like that. Connie and I have it all worked out.”

“That does not help with my confidence.”

“Our plan is flawless! I’m going to hide in one of the delivery crates. You and Connie are going to help my brothers unload the carts at the palace. Once we get inside, I’ll get out of the crate, and a friend, who’s a servant in the palace, said he’d find a place for us to hide. Once it’s time we’ll go to the ballroom. It’s fool proof.” She stood tall, chest lifted.

“If you say so.” Armin frowned. He really wanted to poke at all of the holes in her and Connie’s brilliant plan, but he knew it would get him nowhere. They’d come this far; he may as well see it through.

“Go so I can get dressed.”

***

Since arriving at the ball, Jean ended spending most of his time wandering the halls alone. He felt it was a much better option than to be forced to pretend that he actually wanted to be there since neither Marco nor Mikasa were available to talk as they were forced to perform their royal duties before they could truly mingle. To make matters worse, his mother kept pawning him off on every eligible nurturer in the vicinity. The last straw was when his mother spoke of arranging a marriage between him and the 12-year-old-son of Lord Hamburg as a last resort. Immediately, he faked being ill due to the suffocating heat of the ballroom, and his mother let him go to “cool off.”

After being gone for nearly an hour, he made his way back to the ballroom. As he neared the entrance, he heard a commotion.   

“Unhand me! Do you have any idea of who I am?!” A woman’s voice rang out as Jean rounded the corner. She was wearing a reddish dress and was accompanied by two short men one bald and one blond.

“No, I don’t. I’m sorry Miss, but you cannot enter without an invitation. You and your friends are going to have to leave.” A tall burly servant was blocking their way.

“I told you that we were meeting our friend who has our invitation. If you would just let us find them, we can straighten everything out.” The bald one tried and failed to push his way past.

“You should have made plans to meet with your friend prior to coming here. Please leave.”

As Jean grew closer to the trio he realized that he recognized them. They were the ones he saw earlier that day. They were harmless enough he figured. They probably just wanted to spend a night of fun. At least they seemed more interesting than the mass of hangers-on that he was bound to run into.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

The blond turned to him eyes narrowed.

“Reiner they’re with me.”

“See I told you we were meeting our friend, now are you going to let us in or what?” The bald one puffed up his chest.

“Are you sure, sir?” Reiner looked like he wanted to body slam him into the floor.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Jean walked up to the short blond and extended his arm. “Come on, let’s get inside before all the good food is gone.”

The blond paused considering him then grabbed a hold. “Gladly.”

Jean grinned as they walked into the room. He felt like the luckiest man alive to have the cutest man in the room on his arm. The other two quickly followed behind them and made a beeline to the refreshments.    

“I have to thank you for doing what you did back there. I was afraid that my friends were going to get us arrested and thrown into the dungeon.” He looked up at Jean and smiled.

“Well, you can properly thank me by giving me your name.”

“It’s Armin, Armin Arlert.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Armin. I’m Lord Jean Kirstein. You don’t mind if I call you Armin do you?”

Armin froze.

“It’s just that you don’t seem to be the type to care about that type of thing. I mean it’s fine if you do, and I call you whatever you want. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything. I’m just trying to be friendly, and I should probably stop talking now.” He blushed hotly. Why did he always ramble when talked to anyone he found attractive?

Armin giggled like a tinkling of bells. “Please, just call me Armin. I’m not really one for formalities.”

“Good.” He inwardly sighed in relief. “Then you can call me Jean.”

They continued walking in silence around the edge of the ballroom. Jean really had no clue what to say to the small blond. He didn’t even know if he was a nurturer, but based on his attire he would guess not since he was wearing trousers instead of robes. He could be one of those willing to have children by means of potions. Jean hoped he was. Armin would make a wonderful marriage prospect. Now if only he could convince his parents, and more importantly Armin, of this fact.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any relation to Klaus Arlert would you?”

“Mhm. He’s my Grandfather. Why do you ask?”

“My father knew him. At least if it’s the same person. The Klaus Arlert my father knows was the King’s and my father’s tutor back when he lived in the capital.” Jean hoped he was. It would make things go much smoother that way. He doubted he’d be allowed to marry Armin otherwise.

“Then it probably is my Grandfather. He was originally from the capitol, but he, my Grandmother and I moved to Trost a few weeks after I was born.”

“What happened to your parents if you don’t mind my asking?”

“They died not long after I was born.”

Jean froze. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. There was no way for you to have known. Besides, if I minded I wouldn’t have answered. Now, stop looking like you killed them personally. This is a party after all, even if it’s not our party.” Armin smiled up at him.

If Jean hadn’t fallen for him by now, that certainly would have done it. Not only was he attractive, but he was kind and sweet as well? Jean needed to propose to him as soon as a proper amount of time had passed, which meant he had at least two weeks to make himself look as the most attractive prospect for a husband.

“Would you like to dance?” He gestured to the center of the ballroom where several partygoers had gathered to dance to the beautiful music the live musicians were playing.

“I’m not much of a dancer.” Armin blushed.

Jean’s heart skipped a beat.

“Grandfather’s tried to teach me, but I’m afraid not much it has sunk in. I’m afraid I’ll embarrass you.”

“It’s ok. We don’t have to dance if you don’t want to.” There would be plenty of time for him to learn properly before the wedding. “But weren’t you teaching your friends earlier today?”

Armin’s eyes widened, and he stepped away from him. “How did you know that?”

“My carriage passed by the Inn when the three of you were outside. I recognized you all at the entrance to the ballroom. It’s why I helped you get in. I thought the three of you might make this party more enjoyable. Please, don’t leave. I’d miss your company.” Jean said in a rush. It would really be unfortunate if Armin left. Then all of his marriage plans would be for naught.

As Jean rambled, Armin relaxed his stance minutely. “I have no plans to leave anytime soon.” He looked across the room. “My friends appear to still be entranced by all the food. It’ll take an act of great magic to get them to leave.”

“Good.” Jean linked arms with him again leading him to the doors to the garden. “Because I really would miss your company. I hate attending these things. It’s always the same, the nobles share gossip about everyone, and the wealthy merchants do their best to climb the social ladder. Nothing interesting ever happens at these things, until now that is.” Jean looked down at his companion and smiled what he hoped to be something along the lines of sultry.

“Well, I’m glad that I could keep you company. It’s much better than what I expected.” Armin looked everywhere but at Jean taking in the sights of those around him.

“Really? What did you expect?”

“For my friends and me to be in jail right now.” He smirked. “But since they somehow got these clothes made for my birthday today, I couldn’t just let them go to waste by refusing to sneak into the ball with them.” The smirk softened into a small smile. “They went to all the trouble to get me these clothes; it’s the least I could do to repay them.”

“You have really good friends.” Jean smiled.

“The best.” Armin grinned.

“Oh, and a happy birthday to you.”

“Thank you.” Armin nodded politely.

It was in that moment that Jean realized that Armin’s face was very familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “Do you have any other family that still live in the capitol?”

Armin frowned in thought. “Not that I know of. Grandfather rarely talks about the time he spent living here unless it’s about my parents.”

“Would you mind if I undid your hair ribbon? Maybe if your hair was down it would jog my memory.”

“I don’t mind if you think it would help.” Armin turned his back to him, allowing Jean to tug on the ribbon allowing for Armin’s hair to fall free. Armin turned back to face Jean and shook his head to settle his hair in its more natural position. “How is that?”

Jean tilted his head to the side. _Maybe if his hair was darker?_ He leaned in close, and reached to settle some of Armin’s hair behind his ears and that’s when it hit him. “You look like the old Queen. I’ve seen paintings of her a million times. I’m sure of it.” Then it struck him. “You’re the missing Prince!”

Armin laughed a full-bodied laugh. “There’s no way that’s possible.”

“Is it? You share the same birthday as him, you look like Queen Frieda, and you were born in the capital. Your Grandfather won’t even tell you about the time period of when he lived here! Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”

Armin frowned. “You’re serious aren’t you?” Armin stepped away from him, turning his back. “But that’s not possible. That would mean my Grandfather was the one that stole the missing Prince. That would mean _I’m_ the missing Prince! And if he is the man that you said taught your father and the King, then why would he do something like that and betray the kingdom?”

“I don’t know, but I think it’d be worth it to look into.” Jean stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.“You at least deserve answers about what happened before he left the capitol.”

At that moment, the grand clock chimed the hour, and Armin gasped. “Oh no! It’s midnight! I need to get back.” Armin took off at a run.

“Armin, wait!” Jean called after him, but he continued through the doors and the crowd, startling the other guests.

The commotion got everyone’s attention, including Armin’s wayward friends who immediately exited after Armin. Jean tried to follow but lost him once he exited the palace doors. He searched the vicinity of the carriages, but there was no sign of him. He walked back to the party, and all throughout the room everyone talked about the small blond that caused an uproar with his exit. He looked down into his hand, finally realizing that he still held Armin’s hair ribbon. He had to return it to him somehow.

***

Erwin and Levi finally arrived in Trost much later than anticipated due to the storm, but Erwin didn’t mind as much as Levi. He was just glad that they arrived. The streets were empty due to the late hour, and only the gentle clopping of their horses’ hooves greeted them.

It had been 3 months since they’d rode through Trost, and in that time, he was no closer to completing his mission than when he started. He knew somewhere in his heart of hearts that his mate was still alive despite what everyone said. He searched for any scrap of evidence of his existence in the capital of Sina, but there was nothing. After 16 years, no one knew what happened, and if they did they were too afraid to say anything.

“There’s no point in calling yourself an idiot,” Levi muttered.

“Why? It’s clear everyone was right.”

“You chose to follow your gut. Whether it was right or wrong, you went along with the choice that you felt was best. The one you’d be able to live with. If that makes you an idiot, then it’s everyone else that needs to evaluate their life choices.” Levi glanced at him. “Besides, if it was either find your lost soul mate or marry someone horrible, I’d got for the first option.”

“Even if it means that time was lost that we don’t have?”

“You can’t question the past. It’s done and over with. Stop dwelling and move on. If you say one more thing about regretting your decision, I’m going to make you sleep in a pile of horse shit. Now let’s get to camp before someone discovers we’re here.” Levi urged his horse to a gallop and road ahead.

Erwin just shook his head and followed after.

“Connie, look out!”

Out of nowhere, a figure stepped into the pathway of Erwin’s horse and froze. He had no time to stop so he jerked on the reins causing his horse to rear up. His heart leapt in his chest trying to tear itself free. His horse settled back on the ground, and a burning sensation settled over him.

“Are you alright?” Erwin asked but received no answer. Two people had gathered alongside the man in the street and fussed over him.

“I told you that you need to pay attention to your surroundings at this time of night! You could have been trampled.” The blond chastised. The burning in his chest intensified.

“Your friend is right,” he offered. “You never know what lurks around in the shadows. Are you going to be alright?”

“He’ll be fine,” stated the girl. “He’s just shaken up.”

“We should get him home. Connie, you are you okay to walk?”

“Yeah,” he muttered, voice shaking. The blond wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lead him across the street.

The further away he got, the more the burning lessened. Erwin sat on his horse and continued to stare at them long after they’d gone. He memorized the location, then shook himself out of his state of shock and continued riding to camp. When he arrived, Levi was already there setting up for the night.

“What took you so long?”

Dazed, he climbed off of his horse. “I think I found him.”

“What? How?”

“I almost ran over his friend.”

Levi stared at him blankly. “Why couldn’t you have done that before? It would have saved us three months. Are you sure it’s him?”    

“Is it possible to feel the pull from more than one person?” He untied his pack from the side saddle.

“No, you should know that.”

“I just wanted to be sure.” He sat down next to the fire Levi was building.

“What are you going to do?”

He rubbed a hand over his chest, eyes blank. “First, we need to stop by Arlert’s shop. Then, we’ll look for him.”

***

Armin sighed as he crawled into bed. He was glad to find that he made it back before Grandfather. He didn’t know what he would have done if he arrived to find his Grandfather sitting in his room especially with the recent revelations Jean made. No one has ever remarked on the close resemblance to the deceased Queen, and of all people, Grandfather should have been the one to say something.

Then it struck him.

Grandfather always said that he looked just like his mother. Could he have meant that he looked just like the Queen? He never saw a picture of his parents. He always asked for a picture or anything they would have left behind that would give him some sort of idea of what they looked like, but Grandfather said that everything was lost in the fire that killed them and that he was lucky that the fire didn’t kill him too.

He never pushed after he got that response, and now he wished he would have. His entire life could be a lie. 16 years he lived under this roof. 16 years of shared heartache and smiles. 16 years and all of it wasn’t real. Was he even real?

Logically he knew that he was, but his personality, his beliefs, would they be different if he had grown up in a palace instead of the small bookshop? Would he even want to be friends with people like Connie and Sasha or would he only want to associate with people like Jean?

He was so confused. He wished he could take this night back. Living in his ignorance was blissful, and he wanted to go back to that time when all he had was his Grandfather and this tiny shop, but Pandora’s box was opened, and now he needed answers.

He heard the door to their apartment creak open. That could only mean that his Grandfather was back. He wanted questions, but not this soon. He blew out his candle, threw his blanket over his head, and feigned sleep. Seconds later, the door to their tiny apartment opened and closed, and he heard the slow gait of the only person he knew as family walk into his room. He felt his presence hover over his bed and felt a hand brush his shoulder.

“Happy birthday,” Grandfather whispered. Footsteps walked further away from him, and his door closed.

Armin breathed a sigh of relief. He turned over to find a gold feather sitting on his bedside table. He questioned its presence but figured it was a present. He breathed a calming breath, and closed his eyes, forcing himself to go to sleep. He’d confront his troubling thoughts some other time.

For now, he needed sleep.


	5. The Grandson ran into the Elven Prince to whom he was promised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knights, Walls, and Runaways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are two weeks late. I'm sorry! Hopefully, the next chapter will be out much sooner!

Nile hated when people didn’t do things according to plan. He put certain measures in place to ensure his future. He expected for those measures to be carried out to his exact orders. What he didn’t expect was for a sentimental old fool to fail at carrying out those orders for sixteen years. How hard was it to “misplace” a child? 

He should have never trusted Klaus Arlert. He should have hired someone to make sure the old man went through with it, and if the old tutor couldn’t have done the deed himself, there were certainly people out there with twisted enough desires to do so. He could have even just walked out to the middle of nowhere and left him for the wolves to eat. Anything was better than what was happening right now. 

“Um, Your Highness? What do you want me to do about the rumors?” 

Another useless servant stood before him, fingers twitching at his sides.

“Obviously, nothing can be done. Rumors spread like wildfire and nothing we say can refute them,” he growled. 

“But, they’re saying that the Lost Rose has returned to claim what’s rightfully his. Aren’t you afraid that it’s true?”

Nile stood and walked to the man standing before him, cocking his head to the side. “It is you who should be afraid for asking such a stupid question. Do you wish to die?”

The servant paled, twitching growing worse by the second. “N-No, Your Highness.” 

Nile leaned over and whispered into his ear, “Then I suggest you leave before I have you forcibly removed and fed to the dogs.” 

The servant squeaked and ran out the room. 

Nile sighed. Good help was so hard to find. 

He turned to his handmaiden and requested that she bring out his tightest fitting robes. He needed them for what he was about to do. He removed his clothes and stood before his full-length mirror thinking of what accessories he should wear. His handmaiden returned with the blood red robes and helped him to slip them on to his slightly muscled form. 

“What jewelry should I wear?” He looked at her through the mirror. 

“What are you trying to achieve, Your Highness?” 

“I want to look sultry, but not like one of those street whores. I do have class.”

The handmaiden hummed, and turned to the chest where Nile kept his jewels. “Might I suggest the pearls?” She held up a long tiered pearl necklace that accented his exposed collarbones. With the necklace, there was a simple pair of studded earrings. 

Nile smiled. “You know me so well. Help me put them on.” 

“It is my job to know your every need, Your Highness. I wouldn’t be very useful otherwise,” she said removing the clasp and settling the pearls around his neck, before snapping the clasp closed. She placed the earrings into his ears and gave him a once over. “You look ready to kill, Your Highness.” 

“Just what I was hoping for.” He looked at himself in the mirror smoothing out the imaginary wrinkles in his robes.

“Do you need anything else, Your Highness?” 

“I won’t be back to my rooms tonight, so there won’t be any need to prepare my bed. You’re dismissed.” The handmaiden grinned and curtsied before leaving the room; Nile followed soon after. 

He walked down the corridor, ignoring the looks he received for his scandalous clothing choices. He knew he looked damn good and that was the point. They were his only weapon in a world where he was meant to be dominated. 

He stopped in front of the door of the King’s meeting room knowing what he was going to be walking into. He took a deep breath and threw the doors open. Inside the King and his council looked up startled at the sight of him. 

“What is the meaning of this?” The gnarly old general glared. “You have no business here nurturer,” he ground out the last word like a slur. 

“I need to talk to my husband.” He stared the old man down hoping to evoke his sense of power. 

“Of course, he would, looking like that.” 

Laughter erupted around the room, and Nile fought back a blush. He focused his attention on Darius who had yet to speak. 

“We need to get back to the meeting, Your Highness. You can talk to the King in your own time.” 

“I will talk to him now.” Nile walked further into the room and around the table to sit in Darius’ lap. “Husband, do you not wish to speak to me?” Nile brushed his hand against Darius’ cheek staring deeply into his eyes. 

“Leave us,” the King muttered eyes unfocused.

“But Sire—”

“I said leave us!” 

The rest of the men in the room rushed out leaving the two of them alone. 

“What is it that you need, my pet?” He wrapped his arms around Nile’s waist pulling him in closer.

“I heard a nasty rumor that someone resembling the late Queen was at the ball last night. They’re saying that he’s the Lost Rose, and he came to try to steal the throne from Marco.” He pouted, continuing to brush his hands against Darius’ cheek. “I thought you said that Klaus had a handle on Armin, and he wouldn’t be a problem?”

“He checked in with me a few months back and said that everything was fine.” Darius leaned in to nuzzle Nile’s neck and placed a gentle kiss there. 

“Obviously, they aren’t because now I have poor Marco and Mikasa worried that their older brother is going to come to the palace in the middle of the night to murder them in their sleep,” he whimpered. “My poor children don’t deserve to live in fear, my love. I just can’t bear it.” Nile turned away from him, arm covering his eyes, pretending to sob.

“Oh hush, my pet,” Darius cooed. “No one will ever lay a hand on our children. I’ll have the guards doubled.”

“I fear that might not be enough. He was able to get into the castle after all.” He turned back to his husband and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Do you have a suggestion? I’ll do anything to make you feel safe.” Nile smirked into his neck and placed a kiss there before sitting up and looking him in the eyes.

“I believe we need to send guards at once to bring the two of them here. Klaus has failed in his duty of keeping Armin hidden. He needs to be punished for it.”

“Anything you want my love.”

Nile rewarded him with a searing kiss. “Thank you, husband.” 

And that is why if you want something done you have to do it yourself. 

_ *** _

“You can unlock the door and flip the sign now.” Grandfather called over his shoulder as he was unloading a crate of books to be organized and shelved. 

“Yes, Grandfather.” 

Grandfather stared at the young blond. Ever since they got up that morning, Armin only gave him one or two-word answers. Usually, Armin was the chatty one, but this morning Grandfather would have found it easier to teach a dog how to have a full conversation in Elvish than to get Armin to say one full sentence about how things went while he was away.  

Not long after Armin unlocked the door and flipped their open sign, a young noble boy waltzed right in.

“Armin! I’d hoped this was the right place.”

“Jean, what are you doing here? How did you even know where to find me?” Armin’s face paled as he moved out of the way for the other boy to enter the shop. 

“I asked my father, and he told me about the bookshop! Why didn’t you tell me you worked here? Father says he always orders his books from here. Anyway, I wanted to return your hair ribbon.” The other boy held it out to Armin and blushed. “I thought you’d miss it after last night.”

“It’s just a ribbon. I could have just found another one.”

Grandfather frowned. Who was this stranger at the door, and why did his grandson so tense? Armin looked like he really wished that the noble-looking boy would leave. But how did Armin and the noble meet? There was no way for them to have crossed paths unless…Unless Armin snuck out to the richer district while he was away. It’s not every day that nobles come to the shop and know Armin by name. He would investigate this further, but for now, he would pretend to be busy with organizing the books while paying attention to their conversation. 

“Honestly, I just wanted to see you again.” The noble’s cheeks turned even rosier. “I wanted to talk to you more, and you just left the ball abruptly—”

Grandfather stop what he was doing. Of all the foolhardy things that boy could have done, he had to reveal himself to the most dangerous people in the kingdom.

“Shh!” Armin threw his hand over the noble’s mouth. 

The cerulean eyes of the young blond met his own much older ones and found disappointment with hints of anger and worry. All blood drained from Armin’s face, and what little control he had over his body was lost in erratic jerky movements. Armin was caught between lies and truth, and now he had to face the consequences.

“You should go. Now!” Armin pushed the noble towards the door.

“But what about—”

“Another time! Please Jean, just go.” Armin looked between the other boy and Grandfather with terror in his eyes. 

The noble looked between the older man and Armin then sighed. “Fine. Some other time.”  His shoulders slumped as he shuffled out the door. 

Armin closed the door behind him refusing to turn around and meet Grandfather’s gaze.

“Armin?”

The boy’s breath hitched. 

“What was that about you going to a ball last night? And who was that boy and why did he have something of yours?” Grandfather remained calm, but underneath raged a storm.

Armin looked at his feet and unconsciously shrunk his shoulders as he turned to face the man who raised him. “Connie and Sasha took me to the ball last night for my birthday.” He hesitated. 

“And that boy?”  

“He was able to get us in. We spent the night talking.” Armin’s voice slowed as if to grasp a hold on fleeting memories. “And I left without saying goodbye. He was kind enough to return something that I left behind.”

Grandfather remained silent clenching and unclenching his fists. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Did anyone recognize you?”

Armin’s face folded in on itself in confusion. “What?” 

“I said did anyone recognize you?” He rushed over to Armin and grabbed his shoulders shaking him. “This is important! Did anyone recognize you? Did you draw attention to yourself?” 

“Why would you ask something like?” Armin’s eyes turned calculating.

“Just answer the damn question!” Grandfather yelled pushing him away. “Of all the foolhardy things you could have done you chose to do that?! Tell me now, your life depends on it. Did someone recognize you?”

“It’s true,” Armin whispered. “What Jean said was true!” His voice grew stronger with every word. “I’m the missing prince! You stole me from my real family! How could you?” Armin choked on his words, “Why? Why would you do something like that? I loved you! I trusted you! The King trusted you, and you betrayed him!” His face flushed. 

“Armin—” Grandfather reached for him.

“No! You don’t get to touch me!” He wrenched away from him moving closer to the door. “Stay away from me!”

“Please Armin, let me explain!” He pleaded. 

Armin shook his head and ran out the door.

“Armin!” Grandfather chased after him, but Armin was too fast for him. Grandfather lost his chance to explain. More importantly, he lost the only family he had left. 

With eyes blinded by tears, he made his way back to the shop hoping for Armin’s return. 

***

Armin stumbled into someone as he ran off. They said something to him, but it all sounded like white noise, nothing was getting through. His entire world was crumbling around him. He was a prince, an actual real prince that was stolen from his family. What kind of person would do that? 

As he got closer the wall, he made a detour to avoid being seen by the men that guarded the gates. He slipped into an alley and ran down its narrow path until he reached the end where it opened up slightly to reveal a large section of blank wall and an old man sitting on a chair. He walked over to the man and handed him a coin he’d slipped out of his pocket. 

The man took it and placed it into a pouch. “And where would you headed to today, Armin?” 

“The field. I need to think,” he muttered. “How long before the next patrol?” 

“You have a few hours. Just remember to tap the other side three times when you want to come back through.”

Armin nodded. “Thanks, Hannes.” 

Hannes just nodded his head and stood to place his hand on the wall. He muttered an elvish phrase, and the wall glowed beneath his palm. Slowly lines appeared forming cracks for a door. The glowing faded, and Hannes stepped back allowing Armin access. He placed his hands on the door and pushed outward. The door gave way, and Armin stepped through. Before him was a small grove of trees. As he walked further in, he heard the door close behind him leaving him alone beyond the walls. 

***

Levi continued to grumble after the kid ran into him, but Erwin wasn’t paying him any attention. He felt it again, the feeling of his heart being ripped out of his chest and the burning sensation left in its wake. It was him. It had to be, but he had no time to dwell on it. He knew he’d find him again; it was only a matter of time. Right now, he needed to focus on the shop that was right in front of him. 

Levi opened the door, and Erwin walked in behind him to find Klaus kneeling on the floor in tears. Erwin looked to Levi, but he just shrugged. 

“Klaus? What’s wrong?” Erwin knelt next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The old man looked up at him and recognition flashed on his face, but it immediately crumpled and sobs poured from his lips. “Please? If you don’t tell me, how can I finish repaying you?” Erwin looked up when he heard Levi make a noise of displeasure. He ignored him in favor of the sobbing man in his arms. 

“He-he’s gone!” Klaus said hiccupping. “A-Armin’s gone, and it’s entirely my fault. I-I have to get him back.” He turned to look up at Erwin. “You have to help me get him back. Please, he’s all I have left.”

Erwin nodded solemnly. “Of course, we’ll help. We still have to meet him after all. Do you know where he could have possibly gone?”

Levi groaned.

“The butcher’s shop or the inn? Those are where his friends live or maybe near the wall gates.” Klaus shook his head.

“Why there?” Erwin asked. 

“Because there’s an alley there where for a price you can sneak in and out of the walls. I’ve told him countless times how dangerous it is, but it’s never stopped him before.” 

Levi sighed. “Why don’t we split up. The Inn is nearby. I can go there, the old man can go to the butcher’s shop, and you can head to the alley.”

Erwin turned surprised eyes at Levi.

“What?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Erwin stood. “We should get going. Chances are he’s still nearby.” Erwin helped Klaus to stand.

“Thank you!” Klaus repeated over and over.  

“Let’s just go find your grandson.”

***

Armin stared up at the sky. Large fluffy white clouds floated by, and all his thoughts revolved around how peaceful it was to be laying out in the middle of nowhere. Thoughts of how his life was a lie were no longer present. It was just him, the trees, and the sky. He breathed in the fresh air and relaxed further into the grass below him. He had no clue how long he was out here, and he probably should get up so he could face his reality, but lying there just felt so much better. Here he had nothing to worry about. Here he could follow his own rules.  He didn’t want to go back to the life he had; there really wasn’t much to go back to anyway. He could live out here among the trees. That would be the life. He’d finally be free. 

_ Snap. _

Armin sat up quickly and looked around him, but saw nothing. He stood up slowly and took a tentative step forward when he heard another crack coming from the direction of the wall. He took off the in opposite direction not paying any heed to the noise he was making. 

“I hear him running! This way!” A chorus of pounding feet filled the once peaceful silence, and Armin picked up speed. 

_ Stupid Hannes! Must have sold me out to the guards.  _

It was the only explanation he could come up with. He’d heard of people who’d gone out beyond the walls only to be sold out by the doorkeeper who was avoiding being arrested by snitching on the very ones he’d illegally let to pass through. 

Heart pounding and breath coming out in harsh pants, Armin picked up speed, but it wasn’t long before the sounds of pounding feet were getting closer to him. He made the mistake of turning around to glimpse the men chasing him, and that’s when he ran into a solid form. He stumbled back, thinking it was a tree until he looked up to see a man dressed not in the uniform of the Stationary Guard, but of that of the men trusted to guard the crown. He darted and tried to run, but he stumbled over an exposed tree root. The man grabbed him around the waist and threw his small body over his shoulder. 

“Let me go! I didn’t do anything!” He kicked and hit the man below him, but was only met with grunts. 

“Looks like a lively one boys!” one of the other men called and the rest laughed.

“Too bad we can’t rough him up a bit. The King wants him unharmed.”

_ The King?  _  Why would the King want him? Then it hit him. His  _ Father _ wanted him back, but how did he know where to find him after all these years? 

“Well let’s get a move on. The faster we get there the less time we’ll spend babysitting.” 

“Where are you taking me?” Armin asked the man carrying him. 

“To the Winter Palace.” 

“Why?”

“King’s orders.” 

“How do you even know you have the right person? You could be arresting the wrong man.” Armin hoped he could trick them into letting him go.

“Is your name Armin Arlert?” 

Damn. “No,” Armin tried to sound convincing but it came out as more of a question.

“Well, the old man guarding the door said that Armin Arlert came through about 20 minutes ago and should in the clearing just beyond the trees. Judging by where we found you, I’d say you’re probably him.” Apparently guards weren’t as dumb as they looked. 

They continued on in silence, quickly making their way to the door. They also weren’t kidding when they said they didn’t want to spend the day babysitting. When they passed through the opening, Armin noticed that Hannes was nowhere in sight, that coward. One of the men closed the door behind them. The man carrying him set him down on the ground, but before he could even think of running, one of the other men grabbed him and another bound his hands together. 

“Walk,” the man that had been carrying him commanded and pushed him to the mouth of the alley. 

Armin walked noting that another guard was walking ahead of him. By his count, there were six of them and no way he was going to be able to outrun them all. Of all of the things that had to happen today, this had to be it. He was nowhere near ready to confront the past that he’d just learned about. He just wanted to crawl into a hole and forget the whole thing happened. 

All of a sudden the man in front of him stopped walking and pulled out his sword. “I’m going to have to ask you, sir, to step back and let us through.”

“Who is it that you have there?” A deep masculine voice asked. 

“That is none of your concern. Now step aside.” The guard took a step forward. 

“I don’t think that’s possible,” another male voice stated. “You see, we believe that the person you have in your custody just so happens to be the exact same person we’ve been looking for. His grandfather is desperate to find him, and we offered up our help. Now you can just hand him over, and we’ll all forget that this ever happened.”

“Sorry, but we can’t exactly do that. King’s orders,” the second guard said. 

“Well this is quite unfortunate, as we both really want to see the same person,” the second voice said patronizingly. 

“If you don’t move I’m going to have to make you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” the deeper voice said, and all Armin saw was a blur of movement before one of the guards hit the ground. 

Armin gasped as he was pulled back by one of the men behind him and thrust to the back of the group. He landed hard on the ground knocking his head against a bin that had been placed there. His vision went fuzzy, and all he heard was various indistinguishable shouts and cries about elves and to run. He tried standing up, but the world around him spun, and he ended up on his knees. He paused trying to regain his focus and attempted to crawl to the door in the wall. He didn’t make it very far and slumped back down the ground. Black spots were filling his vision as he fought to stay awake. Then, someone picked him up. 

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” the voice said in soothing tones. 

“Are we going to take him back to his Grandfather?” The second deeper voice asked?  

“No. It’s too dangerous here, and I won’t give him up now that I’ve found him again. Open the door. We’re going back to camp, and leaving immediately.” 

Armin weakly tried to struggle but to no avail. He was too weak and his movements only caused the man carrying him to shift him from the bridal carry he was into being hoisted over his shoulder. This only made Armin’s already spinning vision worse, and that’s when he saw him. 

“Grandfather,” he mumbled. 

Then all he saw was black. 


	6. The Boy wanted neither the Prince’s nor the Noble’s advances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A martyr, a union, a welcoming

When Nile wasn’t happy, no one was happy. 

That was the motto the palace staff and guards had learned long ago. So, when the men that were sent to bring him the Arlerts came back empty handed, he wasn’t pleased. When he discovered that the reason why they weren’t brought back was because two elves had attacked them, he was livid. 

Everyone knew what happened to those that disappointed him: they were never heard from again. Some said that he sent them to their deaths; others claimed that they were sent to the dungeons never to be heard from again. The reality was much much worse. 

He collected them. 

He found a spell years ago when he was still Queen Frieda’s handmaiden that turned men to stone frozen for eternity, or until he felt like changing them back. He combined that spell with one that shrunk them so they appeared to be a small collection of figurines. He’d amassed quite a few of them during his time married to the King. Darrius just thought it was cute how his pet had a hobby. 

Nile was in the midst of beginning to speak those familiar lines of the spell when a servant knocked on his door interrupting him.

“I really hope that this is important,” he drawled. 

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the King has summoned you to his study. He says that it’s urgent.” The girl stared at her feet the entire time she spoke too afraid to meet his eyes.

He looked at two of the six men that were sent out and sneered. “You’re lucky my husband has called.” He waved his hand at them. “Go. You are spared, for now, but know this, fail me again and you will be not so lucky.” 

The two men bowed and ran out of the room. Nile felt some satisfaction when he glimpsed that both men had tears in their eyes, and one of them had pissed himself.

He wrinkled his nose. “I want that puddle cleaned before I return.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” She curtsied as he walked past her.

If people were only as obedient as she was, he wouldn’t have to be so cruel. People, he realized, only learned through violent instruction. If one made a mistake, he used their punishment to show others that failure was not an option. Their fear made them more careful. Their fear pushed them to follow his orders implicitly.

He stood before the door of his husband’s study and knocked twice before being given the command to enter. Before him was an unexpected sight. It was the rest of the men he sent out to capture the Arlerts and with them was old man Arlert himself. 

“What is the meaning of this? I was told that the lot of you had failed in capturing the Arlerts due to an _ elvish _ problem.” 

The men flinched at his tone. 

“Well, speak! I haven’t got all day.” Nile glared.

“Patience, pet, come sit while these men tell us what they know.” Darrius motioned for Nile to sit in his lap, and Nile grudgingly obliged. 

“Now, Marlo, please tell us what it is that you have to report, and start with what you remember after you woke up.” Darrius frowned at that. “I’m sure my pet has heard enough of your failures from your companions.” 

Marlo stepped forward. “After we awoke, we discovered two of our men were gone and the alleyway was empty with no trace of the elves or our quarry. We regrouped and decided it was best to wait for Klaus Arlert to return to the bookshop before apprehending him. Upon arriving at the shop, we heard a commotion coming from the Wall Rose Inn and immediately went to evaluate the situation. That’s when we saw Mr. Arlert ranting and raving about how his grandson is not only the missing Crown Prince but was also kidnapped by a pair of marauding elves. We immediately took him into custody and brought him here as per the Queen’s request.” Marlo stepped back in line head held high. 

Darrius was seething. “Of all of the foolhardy things you’ve done, Klaus, this was the worst!”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty! Please have mercy!” The old man crawled before them weeping and reaching for Nile’s skirts. 

Nile kicked his hands away fearing that his failure would contaminate him. “You would dare touch your Queen?” 

Klaus just wept. 

Darrius rolled his eyes. “Tch! You were once a proud man! I remember when I was a boy and clung to your every word, and this is how you repay me? By losing my eldest son? Exposing his secrets to the public?! Now we’ll lose the trust of the people all because you couldn’t keep him under control! What possessed you to allow him to sneak into the ball in the first place? Did you think that he could just meet the family? Let it be a tearful and joyous reunion?” 

Klaus’ weeping only intensified. 

“Answer me!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he cried over and over sobbing into the rugs.

“Useless!” Darrius glared at the pitiful man lying on the floor. “Take him away from my sight and lock him in the deepest darkest dungeon. Let him rot for all I care.” He waved his hand at the guards, and they proceeded to drag the old man off of the floor. 

“Wait!” 

The guards stopped, and Nile stood walking to the still kneeling man. “Look at me,” he commanded. 

Klaus raised his head, tears still streaming down his face. “Please, spare me,” he rasped. 

Nile tilted his head to the side frowning, then a smile bloomed on his face. “We do have a use for you.”

“Thank you! Thank you!” Relief flooded Klaus’ face.

Nile turned his back on him and glided back to Darrius to sit on his lap. “The only thing that will rally the people more than an enemy is a martyr.” 

Darrius looked at him blankly, but he just smiled holding Nile’s gaze.

“Picture this,” Nile whispered softly to paint the scene. “We make an announcement that Prince Armin was rescued from the elves and was going to make his official debut the night of the ball, but due to reports of an elf sighting, we chose to postpone it for his safety. That was all for naught, however, when a band of elves was able to steal him back. Klaus here happened upon them and tried to stop them from taking a helpless child, but was no match for their superior strength.” Nile turned to look at the kneeling man. “An old man dying from mortal wounds received trying to protect the boy believed to be the rumored Crown Prince. This is what we need.”

Silence fell. 

Nile shifted on Darius’ lap and met Klaus’ eyes. “Beat him.”

“What?” Marlo’s face went slack. 

Klaus’ sobs renewed.

“My pet, don’t you think that’s a bit much?” 

Nile turned to Darius, grabbing his chin forcing their eyes to meet. “Husband, we do what we must in order to achieve what we want,” he murmured, voice thick and cloying like honey. “In this case, what we want is Armin back and for the people to believe in us. We use Klaus’ beaten and bruised body to get both and possibly even more. Don’t you want that? Don’t you wish to get Armin back?” 

Darius’ eyes went blank. “Do it,” he said, voice hollow. 

Nile smiled.

“But, Your Majesty, this isn’t right,” Marlo argued.

“You’d dare go against the orders of your King? Committing treason right in front of us? A crime that is punishable by death?” Nile turned his eyes to the guard. 

“No, Your—” 

“Then do it,” Nile’s voice left no room for argument.

“Please.” Klaus turned his face up to the men surrounding him. “Don’t do this! I beg you. I’ve done nothing to deserve this!” 

“You should have thought of that before you let your ward out of sight. Come pet, you don’t need to witness such violence.” Darius and Nile stood and walked to the door.

Nile paused and turned to the men. “I’ll have a servant prepare a guest room for you, Klaus. It wouldn’t do to have a dying hero forced to sleep in the dungeons. Carry on.” He turned back to his husband. “Let’s talk a walk in the garden. It’s so peaceful this time of year.”

“Whatever you want, pet,” he said as the doors closed behind them, sealing in the screams.

***

Today was not Jean’s day.

He thought it was going to be the start of the rest of his life. He had visions of how meeting Armin’s family would have gone. He would be praised and welcomed with open arms for returning Armin’s property. Mr. Arlert would have even offered up Armin’s hand in marriage right then and there because who could be a better marriage prospect than him? 

But all his dreams were dashed when Armin pushed him out the door. Things only got worse when he learned that Armin was taken hostage by the elves and his Grandfather was near death. Any chance he had of making up for his earlier blunder had been dashed to pieces. 

“All I’m saying is, I think something isn’t right with what’s being reported about ‘Min’s grandfather. You saw him earlier. Did he seem injured and near death to you?” 

“Connie you know what you’re saying could get you arrested, right? This is coming from the King and Queen!” 

“But you saw him! Grandfather was fine. Maybe a little shaken up and crazed, but who wouldn’t be after what he saw? Plus, why did  _ palace _ guards drag him away? None of this makes sense.” 

“Shh! Do you want to the whole bar to hear you?” 

Jean turned to see two familiar faces sitting at a table behind him. He stood and walked over to them, taking an empty chair. 

“I couldn’t help, but overhear your conversation, and I’d have to be in agreement with baldy.” 

“Hey!” 

“Thanks, but we didn’t ask for your opinion.” The girl glared at him.

“Is that any way to treat the person that got you into the biggest party of the year?” Jean looked at her smugly, and recognition entered their eyes. 

“You!” She pointed at him.

“Yes, it’s me, and I have a name. Lord Jean Kirstein, and you would be?” The two across the table just stared at him. “Look, if what you’re saying is true, I want to help.”

“But why? You don’t even know them.” The bald one looked very puzzled.

“Because I want to get to know Armin. We had an amazing night last night, and I’d hate to never be able to see him again.” Jean poured out his heart and hoped they accepted him. 

“You like him,” the girl stated. 

“Yes.”

“Even though he’s not a bearer, and mostly likely won’t trade his gender status to become one?” She glared at him. 

Jean didn’t even hesitate. “Yes. I feel responsible. If it wasn’t for what I said last night—”

“What did you say?” The bald one leaned in closer to him clenching his fists.

“Just that he looked like the portraits I’ve seen of Queen Frieda. I asked him about it, and it spooked him. I stopped by his grandfather’s shop to talk to him, but I must have said something wrong because I wasn’t in the shop for more than a few minutes before he asked me to leave, and when the door closed behind me I heard them arguing. I left soon after figuring that they needed privacy, and here we are.” Jean shrugged. “If it wasn’t for what I said, maybe Armin would still be here, and his grandfather would be ok. All I want to do is help them.” And if it got them engaged, who was he to refuse? 

“Just give us a second.” The two of them turned away from him, whispering furiously. 

Jean waited patiently for them to finish. 

The bald one turned to him first. “How exactly can you help us?” 

“My best friends are Prince Marco and Princess Mikasa. All I’d have to do is visit, ask some pointed questions, snoop or convince the two of them to snoop. Marco would do anything for me, and since this regards his missing brother, he’ll probably be even more invested in finding out the truth.”

“Are you sure he’d be willing to help?” the girl said hands clenching the edge of the table. 

“Yes, I’m sure. Marco has a good heart,” he said smiling fondly at the thought of him. 

“Then I’m Sasha Braus, and this is Connie Springer.” She pointed to herself than to the bald one.

“Nice to meet you.” Jean smiled at them. “So how are we going to do this?” 

“Well, I have connections to the palace staff through my Dad’s shop, so I can get good gossip from them.” Sasha offered. 

“A lot of guards like to drink here and since my parents own the Inn I can pretty much hang out here all I want as long as I help out, so I’m bound to learn something if the right people come in. It’s not much, but it’s something.” Connie shrugged. “I just want Armin and his grandfather to be okay.” 

“They will be, as long as they have people on their side working to help them.” Jean nodded his head.

Today wasn’t so bad after all.

***

Armin’s head hurt. Not like “ow I bumped my head on a cabinet hurt”, but “ow I think a building has a crushed me” hurt. He wanted to open his eyes to see where he was because the last thing he remembered clearly was Grandfather’s face, but it was just too much effort. He shifted on what felt like a silky fluffy cloud and moaned. Apparently, it was more than just his head that hurt. His body ached in the places where he had landed hard on the ground. His entire right shoulder felt like one giant bruise, and he wasn’t keen to know what the rest of him looked like. 

_ Click.  _

Somewhere in the room, a door opened, and gentle footsteps made their way closer to him. Seconds after the door opened, he heard a soft  _ thunk _ as something was set on what he assumed was a bedside table. The bed dipped, and he felt a damp cloth brush against his forehead, and he hissed.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were awake,” a slightly lower pitched masculine voice answered him. “I’m just cleaning the bump on your head. I’ll be done in a moment. Then I need to apply more bruise cream to your shoulder, and for that, I’m going to need you to sit up.” 

Armin groaned again. 

“It won’t take me that long, and you can lay back down right after,” he chastised. 

Armin cracked his eyes open to see a curtain of long dark hair, dark tan skin, and the strangest color of green eyes. 

“And he lives! I was wondering if I was ever going to see your eyes, granted I can barely see them now, but at least I know you have them.”

Armin frowned. 

“You never know. I once met a dwarf that had no eyes. Apparently, he lost them to a witch because he couldn’t make good on a payment for a spell or something like that. Anyway, at first I just thought he was blind, but when my dad removed the bandages, he literally had no eyes in their sockets. Not the strangest thing I’ve seen, but it was pretty weird.”

Armin shut his eyes and grimaced. 

“Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble when I don’t know what to say, and it’s usually the first thing that comes to mind like eyeless dwarves.”

Armin groaned again.

“Sorry! Sorry, um, what else can I say?”

“You could be a little quieter? My head kind of hurts,” Armin rasped.

“Eep!” The elf cried.

Then, Armin heard a loud smack, so he opened his eyes to see that the elf had covered his mouth.

“Sorry,” they whispered. “This is why I’m training to be a historian, but don’t worry! I know what I’m doing. It’s basics. I’m just not good with all the other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” Armin was very confused.

“Yeah, like bedside manner, and wrapping wounds, and other medical type stuff you’d need extensive training for. I just don’t have a head for it despite the fact that my Adar is the foremost healer of our time. I just take more after my Mom.” The elf smiled at him. 

Armin glanced at the bedside table and eyed a pitcher and cup. “Can I get some water?”  

“Shit! See not good at this stuff.” The elf reached over and poured him some water. “I’ll help you sit up.” 

Armin moaned at the movement as the elf helped to support his back. Pillows were stacked and fluffed behind him, and the cup was placed at his lips. He took a long gulp coating the back of his throat with cool liquid. 

“Better?”

“Much,” he said once he had his fill.

“I’m Eren, by the way.”

“Armin,” he said finally taking a look at the elf in front of him. Eren was very obviously male noting the tightness of his tunic across his very flat chest. He took a quick glance down and also noted the Eren was very pregnant. He blushed, and looked back at his face.

“Never seen a pregnant male before?” Eren’s smile turned into a slight frown. 

“It’s not that that, there’s plenty of them back home, I just wasn’t expecting it. You’re not dressed at all like a nurturer.” 

Eren’s frown deepened.

“They wear these floor length robes that are similar to dresses, but they have fewer layers. You’re dressed, well like a man.” Armin had no other way to phrase it.

“Of course, I dress like a man, that is my gender. Being able to bear children doesn’t change that.” Eren crossed his arms. “Besides, why would I want to dress like a woman? Leggings and pants are way more efficient. Plus, less draft.”

Armin snorted.

“So men that can get pregnant have to dress as women where you’re from?” 

Armin nodded his head. 

“Bazar.” 

Armin agreed wholeheartedly. 

“Well I should rub this cream on your back, and then I’ll see about getting you something to eat now that you’re awake.”

“Thanks. Do you know when I’ll be able to leave?”  

Eren looked very confused. “You’re not. At least that’s what I figured.”

“What do you mean I’m not going home?” Armin blanched. 

“Maybe  _ I’m _ just confused. That happens a lot. I’ll just put your cream on now.” Eren reached for a small container, but Armin knocked it from his hands. “Hey! I’m just trying to help!” 

“I don’t want your help! I want to go home! I was taken from my grandfather, and I need to go back to him. I need to apologize!” Armin started to get out of bed.

“What are you doing? You’re not well enough yet!” Eren tried to push him back into bed, but Armin was very determined to leave it. 

“I’m not staying here! Who knows what you have planned for me.”

“Nothing! You’re safe here and a guest of the Prince. No harm will come to you, but you need to get back in bed,” Eren forcefully grabbed Armin’s shoulder and pushed him to back down. 

Armin groaned at the pain, crumpling under the force of it. “Let me go! I just want to go home! Please, I just want to go home,” tears filled his voice.

Eren let him go. In that split second, Armin pushed Eren back, knocking him to the ground, and dashed out of bed. He no longer felt the pain in his body, adrenaline taking over.  

“Wait!” Eren called behind him, but Armin wasn’t stopping for anyone. 

Armin crossed the room to what he thought was the exit and threw the door open, blindly running into its opening and into someone’s chest. He bounced back and fell to the floor. Armin looked up at the figure standing before him, and he panicked. He crawled backward from the man, as he stepped into the room.

“It’s him,” Armin cried. “That’s the man that took me! You said I was safe!” He backed himself into a wall, the man no longer moving. 

“You are safe.” 

Armin looked over to Eren puzzled noting that another man was helping him off of the floor.

“This is the Prince.” 

Armin looked from Eren to the man standing in front of him, then back to Eren again. Eren nodded encouragingly, and Armin stood. He took one step and another, and soon he was standing before the man that had taken him from his home.

“You were the one that took me?”

“Yes,” the elf murmured. 

Armin nodded his head in thought, drew his leg back, and kicked him in the groin. The much taller man crumpled to the floor. Eren gasped, and another man snorted. 

“That’s what you get for kidnapping me, you rotten piece of scum! Now take me home!”


	7. But he learned that as the Prince’s soul mate, he was needed to run the kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two chats, an escape, and a search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see! I've finished the term from hell, and now I've started my very last class! In exactly 2 months I'll be finished with school! In the meantime, I'll be working on posting more regularly. The entire fic is written, I'm just working on rewrites and edits, so be patient with me! Thank you Remmy for the beta~

“It’s not funny Levi,” Erwin growled.

“Of course it is. Who knew the mushroom had spunk!” For once Levi’s eyes seemed to grin, though his face looked as blank as ever.

“It looks like you’re going to have to watch out for that one.” Pixis grinned.

“Not you too, Adar.” Erwin slumped into his chair.

“It’s not that bad! That was the least he could have done, and you know it.” Pixis gave his son a knowing look. “What possessed you to just take him like that?”

“I don’t know.” Erwin frowned. “He was just there, and those men were still behind us… I guess I just didn’t want to lose him again.”

Pixis studied his son. “You did what your heart was telling you to do. That’s a very brave thing.”

“It doesn’t feel like it. It was rash, unplanned. He doesn’t even trust me now! How am I going to get him to initiate the bond when it’s clear he hates me?” Erwin slumped his shoulders and rubbed at his temples, something Pixis hadn’t seen in a very long time. It was as if the boy he once knew was returning.

“You’re a smart man. You’ll think of something.” Pixis smiled. “I want you to have something.”

“What?” Erwin looked up at his father.

“You’ll find it on my desk.”

Erwin stood and waddled over to his father’s desk. When he looked down the only thing there was his Ada’s mirror. He picked it up and turned to his father. “Adar, why?”

“It has been passed down from High Consort to High Consort. Soon, it will belong to you mate.”

Erwin shook his head. “But he hates me. We’ll never bond.”

“Have faith, my son. He’ll come around in time, if you have faith.”

***

“I hate him,” Eren cursed.

Armin nodded. “I know.”

“I really hate him.”

Armin snorted, “You’re not the only one.”

“What in the name of Mider* was he thinking taking you like that?” Eren growled pacing back and forth in front of Armin’s bed. “If I had known exactly what he did, I would have kicked him myself and thrown him down a flight of stairs!”

Armin grinned. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

“No! He deserves a lot worse for stealing you away from your home like that. No wonder why you acted the way you did. I’m surprised you didn’t try to run much sooner.” Eren stopped pacing and sat on the bed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to throw him down a staircase?”

“I’m sure.” Armin grinned. “But thanks for the offer. I’m sorry I pushed you. I shouldn’t push pregnant people.”

Eren waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “Oh, I would have done the same thing if I was in your position. If I was being barricaded in a room by pregnant people and grannies, I would have taken them all out if it meant that I could escape.”

“But still, I could have hurt the baby!”

“I’m fine, really. You didn’t push me all that hard, you just took me by surprise.” Eren grinned.

“Then why did you need help to get off of the floor?” Armin frowned.

“My center of gravity is out of whack. The only way I can stand on my own nowadays is if I’m sitting in a position where my feet are firmly on the ground and my back is supported, and even then, I still sometimes need my husband’s help,” Eren grumbled.

“He’s not mad at me is he? He didn’t really seem all that happy when he found out I was the reason you ended up on the floor.” Armin gripped the blankets tightly.

Eren rolled his eyes. “His bark is way worse than his bite. Trust me, if he hated you, you wouldn’t be here right now, even with Erwin’s protection.”

Armin paled. “Okay.”

“Stop being so nervous. Levi really is a big softie once you get to know him; he’s just not very good at showing it. You’ll see.”

Armin nodded his head. “So what exactly is going on? Why would he want to take me of all people?”

“No one’s told you?”

Armin shook his head no, and winced.

“What’s wrong? Is it your shoulder?” Eren stood and rushed to his side.

“I’m fine, really.” Armin waved Eren off and promptly winced.

Eren crossed his arms above his belly and sat on the bed. “No you’re not. Let me look at your shoulder.”

“Only if you tell me what’s going on.” Armin stared him down.

“Fine. Lean over.”  Eren stripped the bandages around Armin’s shoulder and removed the poultice that was kept in place. “You are Erwin’s soul mate, and you were promised to him by the King of Sina at your christening, but not long after, you disappeared. Erwin has been hoping to find you ever since. I guess that when he found you that he didn’t want to have a similar thing happen, so he took you, which is very out of character I might add. He usually thinks things through.”

“I’m his soulmate?” Armin stared at Eren incredulous.

Eren nodded his head as he took a towel and dipped it the basin on the bedside table. “You are destined by fate to one day marry him, and because he is the Prince, you will be High Consort once he takes the throne.” He took the towel and gently wiped the injury.

Armin shook his head and winced at the pain. “But I don’t know or trust him! How am I supposed to marry him? Better yet, why would I want to?”

Eren looked at him shocked, dropping the towel. He had never heard of anyone not wanting to marry their soul mate. From the time he was a child, all he ever wanted was to find the one that was made just for him and he them. When he learned that not many actually found their mates, it didn’t deter him, and he was glad that he never stopped searching. He couldn’t imagine his life without Levi by his side.

“Why would you not?” Eren picked up a jar of salve, and began to rub it in.

“Um, I don’t know, maybe because he’s a complete stranger that _kidnapped_ me?” Armin said sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Eren sighed looking up at the ceiling. He stood, wobbling as he gained his balance, and walked over to the chair where he set down the medical supplies. “You have to understand that for elves, it’s rare to find your soul mate. Most just settle for the one that we most connect with, so for someone to have met their mate and thought to have lost them only to find them again years later…” Eren trailed off. He picked up a few jars and returned to Armin’s side. “I know what he did was wrong, and I’m still angry about that, but we rarely have a first chance --let alone a second-- to find our soul mate, so I understand why he did it.”

Armin looked down at his lap.

From one of the jars, Eren scooped out a thick tar like substance. “This is going to sting.” Eren slathered the substance across Armin’s shoulder.

“Ow,” Armin cried. “That is more than a sting! I feel like my shoulder is being burned off.”

Eren smiled. “My Adar says that’s how you know it’s working.” He took the towel and wiped his hands before picking up a second jar. “This should help take out the burn.” He unscrewed the lid, and removed several damp seaweed like leaves laying them over the goop.

Armin moaned.

“Better?” Eren paused raised an eyebrow.

“Much.” Armin nodded.

“Good.” Eren continued laying the leaves in place. “I know it’s not easy. It certainly wasn’t for Levi and me in the beginning, but that’s why we have a period of courting where we must prove to each other our love and devotion. Only when both of the potential bonding pair have both completed the Ceremonial Gifts can the marital bond be completed. It is a process that is not taken lightly.”

Armin tilted his head. “Why is that?”

“Because if one of the pair rejects the other, they fade, and if it is your soul mate, they die.”

Armin gasped.

“We cannot live without our other half once we have found them. The feeling is like your heart is being torn from your chest, and the further away you get the more it burns, and when that person rejects you, that fire consumes you entirely, until you are nothing but a shell of the person you once were, and then you die.” Eren laid the last leaf in place. “I’ve only once witnessed the effects of a fading due to rejection. The elf had found its mate, a dwarf, not the most advantageous paring from the start, but the elf had hope. It was a hopeless case though because the dwarf was already married and had children, so there was no chance for them. The elf spent the rest their life feeling as if they were burning from the inside out. Adar had to keep them sedated until their family decided that it would just be best for them to be laid to rest…” Eren went silent lost in the painful memory.

“Don’t cry,” Armin whispered.

“I’m not.” Eren brushed his eyes and felt wetness there. He snorted. “I guess I am. Fucking hormones.” He continued to wipe his eyes.

Armin looked down in his lap clenching his hands. “So will that happen…if I tell Erwin that I don’t want to marry him?”

Eren looked away picking up a roll of bandages. “Yes, but it would be worse because you’d be condemning our people to destruction.”

“What?! How?” Armin whipped his head up to look at him face pale.

Eren motioned for the human to lean forward so he could begin wrapping the wound. “Our King is fading. His mate died not long ago, and when a member of a bonded pair dies, the fading process is much slower. Because our people depend on the magic of the King and High Consort to maintain our way of life, we have to have a bonded pair of the royal bloodline take the throne.  Erwin is his only heir and if you don’t bond before the King dies the magic then the magic that protects and nurtures the kingdom will die with him, and if you reject Erwin out right...” Eren didn’t need to finish. “Lift your arm.”

Armin obeyed. “But why can’t Erwin just rule the kingdom on his own?”

Eren wrapped the last of the bandage tying it off. “Because the magic supporting us is too great for one person to maintain on their own. It’s a massive strain on the body.”

Armin frowned. “But you said that the High Consort is dead. How does that work?”

“The King currently is maintaining everything on his own. I would imagine that it would be draining his body much faster than it is already, but Adar says that he’s doing well and as long as he follows orders he may live another full year.” Eren stopped noticing the troubled look on Armin’s face. “I’m sorry if this is too much. Do you want me to talk about something else?”

“No, but I do have a question.”

“Okay.” Eren picked up the jars placing them back with the other supplies.

“You mentioned that before you can get married, you have to go through some sort of courting ritual?”

Eren nodded in the affirmative.

“What exactly does that entail?”

“Oh, well, there’s the initiation ceremony, where the pair stand before each other and their witnesses naked while the bonder mixes a potion made from their blood and herbs. He uses that mixture to paint ruins on the bodies of the pair that represent the gifts they must complete. The pair then drinks the mixture and seals the contract with a kiss. After that they have to prove themselves worthy by completing each gift, and as each gift is completed, a mark is magically burned into the skin showing its completion. Once both have finished, the final ceremony happens where the pair has sex before the witnesses and the bonder completing the bond.”  Eren smiled.

That changed when he saw Armin as bright as a red tomato. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. They set up a privacy screen so it’s not like they see much, and if you’re quiet it’s like no one’s even there!” This did nothing to remove the terrified look on Armin’s face.

“So w-what happens if the bond doesn’t get completed?” Armin said looking everywhere except at Eren.

Eren sat back down. “Then both pairs experience mild symptoms of fading. How severe depends on how invested the pair are, and how close they were to completing the bond. Usually it doesn’t end in death as long as they take certain measures, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. That’s why it’s a serious matter. The couple has to be ready, or it could end terribly for everyone.”

“But if I don’t do it, your entire people will suffer the consequences?” Armin frowned.

“Yeah,” Eren sighed. “It’s a lot to take in, but you’ll have to make a decision soon.”

Armin nodded. “Could you leave me alone for a bit to think?”

“Yeah! Take however long you need. If you need anything, just pull this cord,” Eren said as he gestured to a long white rope that hung next to the bed, “and someone will be up to see you shortly.” Eren turned to walk out of the room, then paused. “And for what it’s worth, Erwin is a good man. Just give him time.” He continued out of the room shutting the door behind him.

***

Armin took a deep breath. The entire survival of a race of people depended on his decision to marry a complete stranger. He was of age, and if his Grandfather hadn’t forced him to hide his true status, he would most likely be betrothed to someone right this very minute. Was he even ready to marry? He’d also be forced to have his first time in front of a bunch of strangers. He barely knew anything about sex, yet he would be expected to perform. He shuddered. And what would happen if he got pregnant? He knew some couples that were around his age that had several children already, but was he ready to be a parent?

He got out of bed and walked over to the window. He opened it, and a cool breeze blew in, chilling his skin. He shivered. He turned back his back to the open window staring at the room before him. His eyes fell on the bed, and he knew what he was going to do.

***

“Of all the stupid things you could have done, you chose to do that!” Eren said barreling into to Erwin’s study.

“Eren—”

“Then you lie to me about how you rescued him!”

“To be fair—”

“I should throw you down a staircase for that alone!” Eren stopped his pacing, marched over to Erwin, and slapped him.

“Hey!” Erwin yelled, shielding his face with his arms.

Eren hit him again.

“Levi do something!” Erwin waved his hands emphatic.  

Levi just turned the page of the book he was reading. “Eren, stop hitting people. We don’t need our child picking up on your violent behavior.”

Eren hit Erwin again, then rounded on his mate. “And you! What do you have to say for yourself?”

Levi shrugged. “I told him not to do it.”

Eren wasn’t pleased. He waddled across the room, stole the book in Levi’s hands and proceeded to thwap him with it.

“Oi, brat!”

“You could have stopped him.” Eren emphasized each word with a smack. “Or at least taken Armin’s grandfather with you!” He hit him one last time with a resounding crack. “Right now, that boy is sitting in a foreign room, taken from his home by people I’m sure he grew up thinking were evil incarnate, all alone because someone decided to think with his dick instead of his head!” Eren turned to Erwin. “You, sir, are going to do everything possible to make it up to him because if you don’t, it’s not just you that’s going to pay the price, and you.” He turned back to Levi, “are going to do everything in your power to help him, or I swear to Danu**, that you are not going to be a very happy person until this baby is born!” Eren threw the book on the floor, and stomped to the nearest chair to sit. He squatted, stretching out his arm to the back of the chair.

“Do you need any help?” Levi asked.

“No!” Eren yelled. He continued what he was doing, widening his stance as he lowered himself down until his butt met the chair. “There! No help.” Eren was very satisfied.

The other men in the room were not.

A knock on the door grabbed their attention.

“Enter,” Erwin called.

Two servants opened the door, bearing platters of food, and stepped into the room. “Dinner is served.”

“Please set them on the table.” Erwin motioned the large table sitting off to the side of the room.  They set the trays of food down arranging them across the table, and Eren groaned.

Levi looked over at Eren. “What is it?”

“I just sat down.”

Levi stared at him blankly. “And?”

“And now I can’t exactly stand up,” he murmured.

“I’ll just bring you a plate.” Levi rolled his eyes, and Eren beamed.

“Thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Levi muttered.

“Is there anything else you need?” one of the servants asked.

“Yes, could you please let Armin know that I wish for him to eat dinner with us?” Erwin asked.

“Yes, Prince Erwin.” The elf nodded, and both servants exited the room.

Levi and Erwin stood to make their plates, and Eren directed Levi as to what he wanted.

“No mushrooms, please.”

With plates made, Erwin and Levi sat at the table waiting for the servant to return. Erwin mentioned that he had high hopes that Armin would be willing to join them, but both Eren and Levi told him not to get his hopes up.

“He did ask me to leave him alone. He may not be ready to face you yet.” Eren theorized.

“What did you talk about anyway?” Levi asked.

“He asked me questions about the kingdom, our customs, you.” Eren looked pointedly at Erwin.

“What about me?” Erwin grimaced.

“Why you’d taken him. Basically all the soulmate stuff, and why you needed him.”

Erwin frowned. “You told him everything didn’t you?”

“Was I not supposed to?” Eren looked at him puzzled. “He really wanted answers, and I wasn’t about to let him freak out over something that I could easily help him with.”

“I wanted to explain things to him myself. You tend to…” Erwin trailed off.

“You scare people because you don’t know when to stop,” Levi cut in.

“I think what Levi meant to say was that you have a problem with being delicate,” Erwin tried to amend.

“You know what I meant.” Levi glared.

Erwin met his gaze. “I’m just trying to save you from what would be an unpleasant night on the couch.”

“You should probably thank him, Levi,” Eren offered.

“I’ll thank him if I feel like it.”

“Is that so?” Eren stared at him.

Levi stared back.

Eren’s eyes narrowed.

Levi looked away. “Thanks.”

Eren beamed.

The door was thrown open, the elf sent to procure Armin ran in. “He’s gone!”

“What?”

“The window was thrown open. There was a rope made out of sheets tied to the bedpost going out the window and to the ground.”

“Shit, kid is smart,” Levi muttered.

“That’s not helping, Levi.” Erwin turned back to the servant. “Berthold, I need you to sound the alert the place staff. Have them search the grounds. Levi, I need you to gather the guards in the court yard, split them into groups, and have them search the surrounding forest. We need to find him before anyone else does.” Erwin threw on a cloak and fastened it at his neck making his way out of the room.

“And where are you going?” Levi looked at Erwin puzzled.

Erwin paused.

“I’m not waiting. I’m going to pick up his trail from the window and try to follow him.” Erwin rushed out the door not looking back.

“You go home,” Levi ordered walking over to help Eren up. “I’ll let you know when we find him.”

“This is my fault isn’t it?” Eren worried his bottom lip, eyes glistening.

“With everything going on, it’s not surprising that he ran. He would have run earlier if Erwin and I hadn’t interrupted him, so don’t worry about it. We’ll find him.” Levi gave him a quick peck, and set off in the opposite direction of Erwin.

Eren stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him, and took a deep calming breath before walking to his and Levi’s suite. He whispered a prayer on his way, believing that they would return soon with Armin safely in tow.

******************

*Mider- Elvish god of Reason

**Danu- Elvish goddess: Mother of All


	8. The young boy reluctantly said yes and they began the ritual to marry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attack, a rescue, a talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Remmy!

Armin was lost. 

He thought that if he escaped through the window, he’d have a better chance of not getting caught and making it to the forest path leading back to the walls. What he didn’t account for was that in the dark, even with the moon as bright as it was, finding the right path was quite difficult especially when he was still aching even after Eren’s treatment. 

It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was taken from his home, and now that he had the chance to go back, he felt like he’d wasted it. He should have taken his time, found a map of the area, then left. It had proven easily enough to fool the pregnant Elf, and since it seemed like they were going to leave his daily care up to him, it would have been easy to pull the same stunt at a later time, but it was too risky. If he waited later, who’s to say that they wouldn’t have forced him to bond by then? No, it was better that he left when he did. He just needed to find a place to camp for the night, and then he’d try to find his way out in the morning.

He paused by a tree to take a quick break to gain his bearings. He tried to look up at the night sky, but where he was positioned all he could see were the dark shapes of the branches. He looked at the tree itself, looking for any kind of foothold or low branch. If he could climb the tree to the top, he could get a clear view of the sky, and possibly see where the forest ended.  

He circled the tree not finding one and that’s when he heard it. 

_ Crack _ . 

He turned in the direction looking for any sign of whatever made that noise, but he didn’t find anything. He turned in the opposite direction, but that yielded no results as well. He cursed his skittish behavior. It was probably just a bird or something, but then he heard it again. 

_ Crack _ . 

This time, it was closer and coming from behind him. He turned in that direction, but again all he saw were trees. He decided that finding a way up to the canopy was much less important than getting the hell out of there. 

He heard the howling of wolves then darted off in the opposite direction. He doubled his pace not paying any attention to his surroundings. All he wanted was to get out of there and fast. As his pace quickened, the howling grew closer and closer. It sounded like an entire pack was crashing through the forest after him. He didn’t dare look anywhere but in front of him. If he did, he knew he’d slow down, and at this point he feared that the wolves were playing with him anyway so it would be to their advantage and not his. 

Of all of the foolish things he could have done, this was it? Maybe he should have waited before he decided to up and run? 

He focused all of his energy into placing one foot in front of the other, but the wolves were still closing in. That’s when he realized his mistake. In front of him loomed a river way too wide for him to cross. They were herding him to this point.

_ Shit. _

His last act on earth would be that of stupidity. He should have stayed with the elves. He shouldn’t have run from the shop. He shouldn’t have yelled at Grandfather. He should have listened to him. Now he’d never get the chance to apologize. Grandfather’s last memory of him will be of Armin being kidnapped, and it’s all his fault. 

He turned away from the river to see several wolves slowly making their way towards him teeth bared and growling. He looked at the ground searching for something he could use as a weapon and found a very large stick. He picked it up, holding it out in front of him preparing for the first wolf to strike. He didn’t have to wait long. The wolf closest to his right side ran at him. He swung the branch, but it dodged. In that moment of distraction, another wolf came at him from the front. He responded too slow and only had enough time to use the branch as a shield in front of his face before the wolf was knocking him to the ground. He used the branch to hold it back while it continued to snap at him, teeth too close to his face for comfort.  

He kicked out his feet, hoping that would further deter the massive wolf on top of him, but nothing seemed to work. He didn’t want to die this way, but he saw no other way out. He closed his, took a deep breath and let go of the stick. 

Nothing happened. 

He cracked open an eye, the wolf was still there, but instead of trying to eat his face it was fending off an attacker of its own. He opened his eyes fully to see that none of the wolves were focused on him anymore, but on the tall blond with long flowing golden locks.  _ Erwin _ . He found him and was now risking his life, the lives of his people, for a runaway soul mate. 

The wolves surrounded him taking turns swiping at his body, some making contact, others receiving a blow from his staff. 

“Armin, run! Take my horse and go!” Erwin called out to him.

But Armin was frozen in place with fear. If he moved, one of the wolves could turn to attack him. If he left Erwin, they could kill him. He didn’t know what to do. 

“Armin this isn’t your fight, take my horse and go! I’ll be fi- _ gah! _ ” A wolf bit him in the leg causing him to drop to the ground. 

Armin panicked. He picked up the stick he’d been using for protection and came at the wolves at a run screaming at the top of his lungs. For some reason, the wolves backed off and darted away.

“Take that you stupid wolves! You’re no match for me!” He spun in a circle, making sure no wolves decided that he was easy prey. When he turned towards the river, he realized that the wolves hadn’t run away from him as they were all at the river’s edge cowering in fear. He turned around and saw a tall man muscular man wearing only a loin cloth standing in front of him. Armin froze. 

“Look what we have here.” The man looked to the ground then back at Armin. “A little elfling and his mouse. Such tasty treats.” He bared his teeth in a wolf like grin. 

“Leave us alone Kenny, and call off your pack,” Erwin gritted out. 

“Now, now, Erwin, it was your little friend that entered my territory. My pack was within their rights to attack him, as well as you regardless that you’re a prince.” Kenny stepped closer. “I should kill you.”

“But you won’t.” Erwin grinned forcing himself onto his feet. “You can’t afford to start a war, not after what happened last summer.”

“You and I both know that no one from my pack had anything to do with that. It was rogues and you know it,” Kenny growled. 

“Still, my people want justice. If I die at your hands, they’ll start hunting you in droves, including the children.”

“Are you threatening me?” Kenny drew up to his massive height.   

“No, you and I both know that that’s the only outcome of you killing me. My father would have no choice but to go on the defensive. I suggest you leave us now, and pretend that this never happened.” 

Kenny glared at Erwin. “Fine, but if either of you enter my territory again, I will have no choice but to go on the defensive,” he sneered. 

Then his body started shifting. His limbs elongated, wolf ears and a tail started to grow. His skin sprouted fur, and in a single blink where there once was a man, there stood a very large wolf. The wolf howled, then took off into the trees, the rest of the pack following suit.

Armin heard Erwin groan and he turned just in time to barely catch him as he stumbled forward. “Are you okay?” concern laced his voice.

“Just help me get to my horse and we’ll go,” Erwin muttered. Erwin whistled, and seconds later, his horse appeared. 

Armin did as asked. He half-dragged half-pushed Erwin on top of the horse. 

Erwin settled himself as best he could then held out his hand to Armin. “Take my hand and I’ll pull you up. We’ll get back faster if you ride with me.” 

Armin took his hand. 

“Now place your foot in the stirrup, and swing your leg over. Don’t worry about falling, I’ve got you.” 

Armin followed Erwin’s directions, slipping once only for Erwin to steady him, and settled in behind him. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around the prince’s waist. When Erwin didn’t protest, he settled his grip firmer, and Erwin urged his horse to turn around, and they rode back to the palace in silence. 

Armin felt horrible. None of this would have happened if he just stayed put. Now the prince was injured, and he apparently made an already tenuous situation worse. For someone so smart, he could be so dumb sometimes. 

He stared off into the distance.  _ I have to make it up to him somehow.  _

“Armin!” 

He turned in the direction that he heard the call come from and noticed the orange glow of a torch in the in the distance. 

“I’ve found him!” Erwin called out and changed direction to head towards the other men on horseback. 

As they got closer, Armin realized that the men were all dressed in similar uniforms of long sleeved dark green knee length tunics, leaf like armor, and white pants that tucked into dark knee high boots. Must be the guards. 

“Everything is fine. Spread the word and have everyone return to the palace.” Erwin ordered. 

“Everything is not fine!” Armin scolded, “You got hurt trying to protect me. You need to see a healer.” 

“I’m fine,” Erwin protested.

“So fine that I had to help you get on to your horse?” Armin shook his head and turned to the guard. “Make sure a healer is waiting for us when we return. We can’t have his wounds getting infected.” 

“As you wish.” The guard nodded his head and called for the others to return. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Erwin grumbled. 

“Well if you weren’t being a big baby, you would have made sure that someone was waiting there yourself.” 

“I’m being a baby?” Erwin looked over his shoulder askance. 

“That’s what all baby’s say when they’re being the biggest babies,” Armin affirmed. 

“I refuse to entertain this any longer.” Erwin stopped talking. 

“And now you’re being a poor loser.” 

Erwin didn’t respond. 

Armin rolled his eyes and sighed. They couldn’t get back to the castle soon enough.

***

When Grisha got the word that the crown prince was injured, he deferred to Petra to take care of it and sent her to wait for them at the entrance to the main courtyard. She hoped it wasn’t too bad of an injury because she wouldn’t know what to do if the prince was near dying. 

Petra waited by the Everbloom Fountain. It was her favorite location in the palace because regardless of the time of year, the most fragrant of flowers bloomed along the twisting vines that formed into a tall spire in the center of three tiers while water cascaded down each level. At the center of the courtyard, it was the best meeting spot. It also helped that the scenery was nice to look at while she waited.     

It was nearly half an hour before she saw movement in the distance. Finally, the prince and his ward rode through the gate. They slid off the horse and a stable hand ran up to them to take the reins and lead the tired animal back to the stable. The small blond boy wrapped an arm around Prince Erwin’s back and helped him limp over to her. 

“Are you the healer?” the small blond asked, eyes hopeful.

“Yes. Technically healer in training, but I’m at the top of my class, and my supervisor decided this would be good practice. Petra Ral.” She held out her hand, and the blond used his free one to shake it. 

“Armin Arl— Just Armin.” He frowned. 

“Well if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the healing house.” Petra turned not looking back to see that they’d follow. 

Instead of entering the main building behind her, she walked past the fountain and turned right, following the path until they passed the main house. The path curved around to the right, taking them past a small lake. 

“It’s just up this way,” she called over her shoulder. 

Up ahead, the healing house came into view. The building wasn’t very tall, only half the height of the main building, but what it lacked in height, it made up for in width. It was much broader than all of the buildings not directly connected to the palace and had a much longer depth. 

“It may not seem like much, but it’s actually much bigger on the inside than what it looks.” Petra looked behind her to see that they were able to keep pace with her. “I’ll show you to an empty bed.” 

“Thanks,” Armin huffed, “He’s kind of heavy.”

She moved to Erwin’s other side to help brace him. “Shit! I should have helped you with him! Damn it, I told Grisha that I wasn’t ready to do this alone!” 

Both Armin’s and Erwin’s face dropped.

“No, I can take care of wounds and things. I’m just not that great with people yet. Don’t worry! I’ll patch him up just fine, promise!”. The three of them struggled inside to the nearest bed. “There! Now, I need to examine you. I need you to strip down to your small clothes and tell me where the worst of your wounds are. I’ll be right back with some supplies.” Petra closed a curtain that effectively cut off the rest of the beds from sight giving the Prince his privacy.  

When she returned, Armin was tomato red, and looking everywhere except at a very nearly naked Erwin. 

“Are you ready?” 

“Yes. There are a few bites on my arms, but it’s my leg I’m most worried about.” Erwin lifted his right leg, and sure enough there was a fairly large gash where the wolf was able to get a sizable mouth full of his leg. It was bleeding sluggishly, and it didn’t seem like he’d lost too much blood, so her main worry was that she needed to clean it, and get it bandaged. 

“How is your pain level between one and ten, ten being the worst?”

“About a seven.” 

“Okay. I’ll get this cleaned up, and I’ll get you a pain potion to take.” She set about cleaning the gash, first using hot water and a clean cloth to remove any dirt. 

After that, she covered it with a special ointment crafted for its disinfectant quality and its ability to speed up healing time. That done, she wrapped it in gauze, tied it off, and handed him a pain potion which he tossed back speedily. She checked the marks on his arms and deemed them non-threatening, and gave him some cream for the bruises. 

“All done! You can get dressed now. The bite on your leg needs to be redressed twice a day to keep it from getting infected. Along with the bruise cream, I’m giving you a little of this ointment I used on it. A little bit goes a long way, and it works best when applied to freshly washed wounds. Just take a warm damp cloth and gently wipe the area then apply the ointment and redress.” 

“Thanks for all your help. I’m sorry you had to get out of bed for all of this,” Erwin said pulling up his leggings.

“You should be sorry! None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the fact that you hadn’t thought anything thing through, which is completely unlike you Mr. Cold and Calculating!” She turned to the tiny blond. “And you Armin, what were you thinking running off into the woods in the middle of the night in unknown territory?”

“I-I wasn’t,” he mumbled. 

“That’s very obvious, now get over here, so I can check you over too. Goodness knows what could have happened to you on top of all of your other wounds.” She forced him to take Erwin’s place on the bed, making Erwin sit in the chair that was previously Armin’s, and checked the bump on his head and his shoulder. “You’re lucky nothing’s gotten worse,” she sighed. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” 

“No, just my ego.” Armin looked away. “I am a bit cold, though.” 

It was then that she noticed how much he was shivering. 

“Let me get you a blanket, and I’ll put a pot on for some tea. And since neither of you seem capable of rational thought, you’re both staying here for the night, no exceptions.” She looked at both of them and glared before leaving their little bubble. When she returned, she could hear them talking and decided to give them a moment. If there was one thing she knew about boys, it was that they were stupid when it came to owning up to their own feelings. They need all the time in the world to get them out. She rolled her eyes and set the procured items aside, busying herself with some menial task that needed to be completed before the next day. 

***

Erwin hated admitting that he was wrong, but in this case, he was really wrong and everyone was right. He needed to do something drastic if he wanted to get Armin to trust him. He swallowed his pride and apologized. “I’m sorry for not being the one to explain things to you, and for how I took you from Trost. I should have been more patient.” 

Armin blinked at him, surprise on his face. “Apology accepted.” He looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry for running off and nearly getting you killed. I should have waited to hear your side of things before doing that. Truce?” Armin held out his hand to him. 

“Truce,” Erwin responded, taking Armin’s hand in his. The touch sent a jolt of electricity through his arm, and the rest of his body tingled pleasantly. 

“You can let go of my hand now.” Armin stared.

Erwin realized that he’d been gripping the poor boy’s hand rather tightly. Reluctantly, he let go, letting his arm fall back to his side. Silence fell between them again for what felt like the thousandth time, then out of nowhere Armin slapped him.

“Ow! What was that for?” He rubbed the slightly sore spot on his arm to soothe away the pain. 

“You apologized for how you kidnapped me, not for kidnapping me!” Armin crossed his arms.

“Because I shouldn’t have done things the way that I did. Do I regret taking you at all? No, because you are my soul mate. I lost you once, and I wasn’t going to lose you again, surely you can understand that?”  

Armin’s look of disbelief morphed into anger. “Of all the pig-headed, egotistical things I’ve ever heard!” He stood and put distance between them. “You kidnapped me, and expect me to forgive you because we’re soul mates?” 

Erwin was very confused. “Well, yes.” 

Armin sighed in disgust. “What did you expect would have happened? That we’d fall in love at first sight, and I’d willingly give up my whole life just to marry you and have your babies?” 

Erwin wanted to nod, but he figured that would be a bad idea at this point. 

Armin paid him no mind, however, as he began pacing back and forth in the small space. “This isn’t some fairy tale.  I’m not a princess locked up in some tower hoping that one day her prince will come. I’ve long made my peace that I’m doomed to lead a very ordinary life, and now you’ve come along with your delusions of being entitled to another person’s love just because we’re fated to be together? Love is earned not demanded. Certainly, you would be able to understand that.”

Erwin was no longer confused. He was pissed. “How dare you insult my entire race!”

“How dare you trivialize my feelings!”

“Your feelings?! You have no clue what I feel!” He stood no longer feeling any pain in his body.

Armin rolled his eyes and mimicked Erwin’s posture. “Oh I’m Erwin prince of the Elves, and I lost my soul mate boo hoo poor me, so I’m going to kidnap him, and we’ll be together forever!” Armin relaxed to his usual stance. “News flash, asshole, some people have it just a tad worse than you do. Ever think about how I was torn away from my family only to have been lied to for 16 years? Because I certainly do!” 

Erwin took a steadying breath and closed his eyes.  _ I will not hit my mate. I will not lash out in anger.  _ When he opened them again, he was much calmer. “One, I do not sound or look like that.” 

Armin snorted. 

“Two, I thought I’d lost you when you were taken all those years ago. When you walked into my life again, there was no denying it. You are my mate. You only feel the burning tug for them, and I have only felt it twice in my life. The first was when we met at your christening when you were a baby, and the second was when you ran into me at your Grandfather’s shop. Elves don’t get that kind of chance. It’s even rarer for us find a soul mate with the way our kingdoms are cut off now, and if our mate is lost to us before we even meet them, we certainly don’t have any hope of finding them then. Then you have situations where you’ve run into your mate, but for reasons outside of yourself you can’t make the connection to them, and you never find them again. So many things can happen to keep soul mates from meeting. I’ve met others that have given up completely on finding theirs, but I’ve met mine not just once, but twice. I wasn’t going to give you up again, and if that makes me a horrible person then so be it.” When he’d finished he hadn’t realized that he’d crossed the room and backed Armin on to the bed. Their eyes were locked together, both of them were breathing heavy.

“Sorry, I took so long.” Petra entered the room. 

Erwin sprang back from Armin and turned to look at Petra.

“I was just checking up on another patient while the tea was brewing.” Petra was carrying a blanket with a tray of tea things on top. She set them on the end of the bed. “Erwin you should be sitting.” She looked at him pointedly. 

“Right.” He shook himself reminding him of where he was. “I should do that.” He made his way back over to the chair. 

“Here’s your tea and blanket, Armin. I also brought you a cup Prince Erwin, I figured you’d want one as well after the night you’ve had.” She moved the tray off of the blanket then set it on the bed. After that, she unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around Armin’s shoulders. 

“Thank you, Petra,” Armin mumbled. 

Erwin wished he could see Armin’s face.

“You’re very welcome. When you’re finished with that, I can show the both of you to more private rooms for the night. Healer Jaeger wants to give the both of you a once over in the morning.” She smiled at them. 

Either she was flat out ignoring the tension in the room, or she was completely oblivious.

“I’d like to go now if you don’t mind.” Armin shifted uneasily on the bed.

“Sure, you can take your tea with you if you’d like.” Armin scooted off the bed with mug in hand and made his way to the open curtain.

“Can I also get something to eat? I’m sort of hungry.” He blushed. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” She said ushering Armin down the hall to the more permeant rooms.

Erwin had never felt more empty in his life.    



	9. But they didn't realize the danger they were in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 chats and some loving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks Remmy for the beta!

“Mother is up to something.” Marco passed back and forth in front of the fireplace. 

Mikasa stared at her older brother and blinked at him. “When is Mother not up to something?” 

She returned the book she was previously reading and turned the page trying to drown out Marco’s complaints. He should be used to their Mother’s schemes by now. It wasn’t like there was anything they could do to change it or go against him. It was best that they stayed back, and didn’t interfere. Nothing good happened to those that interfered. Their Mother had a terrible habit of sacrificing everything to get his way; his children would be no different. 

“I really wish he’d stop. Why can’t he be happy with what he has? It’s more than what some people have, and yet they’re more content with their lives than he is.” He sighed again. 

Nothing good ever came from Marco’s sighs. It meant he was going to do something stupid, like get involved and try to stop their Mother’s machinations. It was a crazy idea, but Marco was Marco. Good pure foolhardy Marco. Nothing would sway him; especially if someone gave him the opportunity to do whatever crack potted idea came to mind. He was just like their mother that way, except he was more noble and kind hearted. 

Mikasa inwardly rolled her eyes but said nothing. She wasn’t going to change his mind anytime soon, so why bother? It was her job to make sure that he didn’t do anything stupid, and if he did, it was her job to get him out of trouble; that’s what sisters were for after all. 

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Marco stopped his pacing and stared at her pointedly. 

Mikasa sat up on the divan and put her book down. “What do you want me to say? That we have to stop Mother at all costs? That we need to thwart his plans?”

“Maybe not that exactly, but something needs to be done. Who knows how all of this will pan out? We need to be prepared.” He put his hands on his hips. 

Classic “Marco is shaming you into helping him” pose.

“You know what happens to these that get caught disagreeing with Mother right? That lovely collection of figurines doesn’t really come from that specialty shop in Karnase.” She blinked at him. 

His cheeks tinged pink. “I know that! I just…” His entire body deflated, and he took a seat at her side. “I’m just tired of not being able to do anything. Mother is always trying to take control for the worst, and Father just turns a blind eye. I’m the Crown Prince, but all I’m good for is taking orders, and looking pretty for the people, but if they knew what my status surely was all they’d see is another useless girl!” He froze at that and looked shameful. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” 

“I know,” she said simply. 

“It’s just so hard when you can’t be who you really are and do the things you truly want.” He frowned. 

Mikasa looked away. Of course, she knew how he felt. She was in the exact same boat he was; not being true to her heart, not being free to love the person she most cared for in the world; it all sucked. 

As the Prince and Princess of the kingdom, they were on an untouchable narrow pedestal. One wrong move and everything could come crashing down around them. That’s why she couldn’t get involved. She couldn’t risk it because their Mother would know that it was Marco that was behind everything. Poor sweet Marco would get in over his head, and she couldn’t let that happen. She had to sacrifice everything that she cared about so that her brother would be safe. Marco deserved everything good in the world, and the kingdom would need him when it was time for him to take the throne.

A gentle knock on the door ended their conversation.

“Enter,” she called out. 

A short blond with her hair done up in a bun and a plain dress the servants usually wore stepped into the room, and Mikasa’s heart skipped a beat. “My Prince, you have a visitor.” 

“Who is it, Annie?” 

“It’s Lord Jean.” She looked at Marco and then for a split second, she met Mikasa’s eyes.  

Mikasa looked away. 

“Thank you, Annie. You can show him in.” Marco’s demeanor brightened.

Mikasa knew exactly why. It was the same reason she couldn’t look Annie in the eyes without feeling her heart being torn into a million pieces, but she’d sacrifice everything she had, including her heart if it meant that Marco could keep that bright blinding smile on his face when Jean walked into the door. For that, she’d even sell her soul. 

Marco deserved that much. 

***

“Enter,” Darius said plainly. 

_ Good _ , Nile thought as he pushed open the door.  _ Perfect time to get what I want _ . He stepped into the room and found his husband in bed.  _ Even better,  _ he smirked to himself. 

“My pet! I wasn’t expecting you tonight. To what do I owe this pleasure?” He smiled beckoning him closer.

“Can I not just wish to spend time with my husband?” Nile said untying the cloak he wore over his nightgown. He shrugged it off of his shoulders, and it pooled to the floor. The look on Darius’ face was exactly how he imagined it to be. His jaw was slacked, eyes narrowing with want and desire. The sheer white nightgown that Nile wore clung to him in all the right places, invoking memories of their wedding night. He glided across the floor, hips swaying all the while. When he got to the bed, he climbed up, and straddled his husband’s lap, making sure to ruck up the ends of the nightgown to pool around their hips, just how Darius liked. 

He leaned in and whispered into Darius’ ear, “It has been quite some time since we last coupled.” He cringed inwardly. “I do so miss your strong arms wrapped around my body.” Nile ground his hips down, and Darius gasped. “Please, show me how strong you are.” 

Darius growled and flipped them pinning Nile’s wrists above his head. Nile squeaked at the sudden movement, prompting his husband to smirk, then moaned when Darius beard scraped against his neck as he planted kiss after kiss to the vulnerable flesh. Nile wrapped his legs around Darius’ hips, arching into the body above him. Then in the blink of an eye, Darius rolled off of him and turned away. Suddenly, all of the plans that Nile had for this night went out the window. 

Nile sat up, smoothing out his nightgown to give him some form of modesty, and crawled over to the back of his husband. “My love, what’s wrong?” He rubbed his husband’s shoulders. 

“I’m so sorry, my pet. I do wish to take part in your heavenly body, but I’m truly not in the mood,” he groaned. “Maybe some other night.” 

Nile frowned. “What’s wrong, husband? As your wife, it is my duty to ease your suffering.”

Darius turned to face him. “I’m worried about Armin.”

Nile outwardly cringed then tried to mask it as concern. 

Darius didn’t notice. “I have failed him once again! All I have ever wanted was what was best for him, and now he’s at the hands of the very ones that will be his doom.” Tears formed in his eyes. “We have to get him back, my pet. We have to get him back, and those elves must pay for all the pain they’ve caused.” He sat up quickly, and tried to move from the bed, but got his feet tangled in the bed coverings and fell. 

“Husband!” Nile scrambled out of bed and to the floor helping Darius up, ushering him back to bed. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine! I’m fine,” he grumbled. “It’s just the thought of what those Elves could be doing to poor Armin. It’s got my blood boiling. We need to do something and fast!”

Nile felt pleased; Darius’ new mood could actually work in his favor.

“I agree with you completely, husband, but you mustn’t over tax yourself in the process. You know what the healer said. Have you taken your tonic today?” 

Darius grumbled out something. 

Nile crossed his arms. “You know you have to take it! I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to you.” 

Darius sighed. “Only for you, my pet.” He picked up a bottle off of the side table full of a greenish-black liquid, unstopped it, and took a swing. He grimaced as he swallowed, and then recapped it setting it down. “Happy, my pet?”

“Very.” Nile smiled. “Now turn around.” He beckoned and sat behind Darius to massage his shoulders. “You know Elves are not the only ones at fault. It would do well if Klaus succumbed to his wounds much sooner than anticipated.”

Darius wrenched himself away. “No, he’s been punished enough. Let him live with his beatings. He’s a frail old man; he’ll die soon enough. We need to focus on calling our allies to help aid us.”  

“But what if he lives? He knows too much.” Nile really didn’t need him wandering around. 

“If he lives, he now knows better than to cross me a second time.” Darius’ tone brokered no room for argument, but Nile pressed on, moving to sit in his lap to face him head on. 

“But he could become a potential risk!” 

Darius pushed him aside. “Leave it!” He stood from the bed and walked away. 

Nile backed off.  

“He knows better than to cross me a second time,” he repeated. Darius turned back to the bed and smiled, walking forward to cup Nile’s face with his hands. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about a thing. Let the men take care of it. You just worry about the children and entertaining the court.” He kissed Nile’s brow sweetly.

Nile frowned looking at his lap. “Yes, husband.” He looked up at Darrius. “But it is also my job to make sure you’re taken care of.” He scooted back further onto the bed beckoning him with the curl of his finger, as he reclined into the pillows. “Let me take care of you.” He plastered a sultry smile on his face eyes half lidded. 

“Who am I to say no to such a welcoming invitation?” He crawled between Nile’s open legs, kneeling down, to place kisses and nips on his creamy thighs. He sat up abruptly, and Nile was prepared to groan again if he decided that he couldn’t continue. It would be a waste of a perfectly good nightgown. 

“Ride me,” Darius growled.

“With pleasure.” 

***

Jean never expected that last night would go so well. Not only did he get Marco’s agreement to help them, but he got Mikasa’s as well. Mikasa usually stayed out of their plans, especially when it came to dealings with the queen. He just hoped that she didn’t plan on doing anything to compromise them; but considering that Marco was involved, she’d probably be more likely to continually stab herself with a blunt spoon, than do anything to put her beloved brother in danger. 

He walked into Wall Rose Inn and Tavern and asked the bartender where Connie was. He was directed to the back room and was happy to find that both Connie and Sasha were there on time. He gathered from their last meeting that these two were pretty unreliable in that regard, but it seemed that they really cared for their friend so that had to count for something. He thought to himself. He stepped into the door and was greeted by the smell of food. 

“Jean! Perfect timing,” Sasha welcomed him. “Food’s just arrived! I’m so hungry. Want some?” 

He looked at the table and saw a platter with cheese bread and some sort of… questionable meat and inwardly grimaced. “I actually just ate, but thanks anyway.”

“More for us then.” Connie shrugged and dug in. 

Jean sat. “So where is everyone at? What have you found out?”

Connie opened his mouth and spoke as he chewed, “I’ loos ‘ike,” he swallowed.

—Jean mentally thanked him. —

“—more soldiers are being recruited, but other than that they know nothing. They seem to be complaining about supply shortages, though, so it’s quite possible that the King may soon request help from our allies for whatever he needs more soldiers for.” 

“Why would they need more soldiers?” Sasha frowned. “Don’t we already have a sizable army?”

“The only reason they’d need more is if they planned on going after Armin. I’ve heard that the Shinghanshina Forest is unnavigable the further in you get. It’s like a maze.” Jean theorized.

“So the more people you put in a maze, the more likely someone would find the center? But wouldn’t you lose more people that way?” Connie’s eyes narrowed as his lips scrunched. 

Jean had seriously underestimated Connie. The boy looked and acted like he’d never a valuable thought in his head, but with what he just said, Jean would need to watch Connie carefully.   

Sasha nodded. “I guess they don’t care so much about casualties as long as they get Armin back, but why do they want him so badly? It doesn’t line up with what Grandfather said, or with how long they’ve lived here and gone unnoticed.” 

Apparently, Sasha wasn’t stupid either. 

Jean nodded, solemn. “Well, whatever the reason it can’t be good. No one would risk that much for something all of a sudden.” 

They fell to silence after Jean’s statement. 

Sasha and Connie continued to eat. 

Jean continued to stare. 

“Are you sure you don’t want any? I caught it myself just a few hours ago.” Sasha slid the platter closer to Jean.

“Sasha!” Connie shouted at her.

“What? He’s helping us with Armin, so I figured he’d be safe to tell.”

Jean looked at her eyes wide and mouth agape. “Wait, you caught this? As in  _ you _ went hunting? Isn’t that illegal?” He  _ really _ needed to stop underestimating the peasants. 

“Yes, but no one’s better with a bow than I am, except for maybe an elf.” She grinned at him. “And since those are illegal here too, I figured I’d capitalize on a niche market. Plus, it frees up my Dad and brothers to mind the shop and the farm.” She took a bite of bread and swallowed. “Sometimes we run low on meat, so we have to go hunting, and since all of my brothers either work at the shop or tend to the animals at the farm, Dad needed someone to go hunt wild game when no one is available. That job fell to me, and I’m damn good it. I won’t let some stupid law stop me.” She glared at Jean. “You wouldn’t happen to agree with those stupid laws would you?” 

“No!” Jean cried. “They’re really unfair, and it keeps more than half our society limited in what they can achieve.” He must have appeased both Sasha and Connie because Connie sagged in relief, and Sasha beamed at him. 

“Good, because if you did, I’d have to kill you.” She flipped the knife she previously used to cut into her meat and pointed it at him smiling all the while. “Can’t have my secrets getting out, now can I?”

“N-No,” Jean stammered. 

“Oh, that reminds me.” She stabbed her knife into the table. “The palace has ordered twice the shipment of meat as usual for their stay. It seems to be that they’re planning on staying here past their usual winter season.” 

Jean frowned. “That goes along with what Marco told me last night when I went to visit them.” 

“What did he say?” Connie asked biting into some cheese. 

“Just that they’re going to have to send for a tailor to make them clothes for the upcoming seasons, as it’s too far to send for the clothes they left behind at the main palace in the capital.”

“What else did he say?” Both Connie and Sasha looked eager.

“He said he’d help.” 

Connie and Sasha broke out into grins.

“His sister said she’d help too. Apparently, the Queen is up to something not so pleasant, and they want to put an end to it.” Jean scowled. 

“The Queen? But he seems so nice!” Connie looked very distressed by this bit of news.

“Connie’s had a crush on him since he was four,” Sasha offered.

“I do not!” He blushed hotly. “I just think that he’s-he’s-”

“Sexy as fuck?”

“Yea-No!” Connie ducked his head. 

“You wouldn’t be the only one to fall for his charm, but don’t. That’s just the façade that he wants to maintain outside of the palace. Those that have spent more than a few weeks around him know better.” 

Both Connie and Sasha looked at him lips scrunched up, eyes narrowed.

But Jean continued. “Queen Nile is a bitch from hell, but don’t let anyone hear you saying that. He’ll find out, he’ll find you, and you’ll never be heard from again.” 

The other two in the room gulped. 

“I guess that means we have to be more careful.” Sasha stared at the wall, eyes blank. 

Jean nodded his head. “We can’t tell anyone else about this. The Queen has spies everywhere.”

“Then what do we do now?” Connie tilted his head to the side. 

“For now, we gather intelligence, and wait.” 

***

If there was one thing Nile hated more than things not going to plan, it was people that got in the way of his plans. 

For the past five minutes, he’d been contemplating taking the pillow that was being used to support the sleeping Klaus’ head and smothering him with it. It wouldn’t take him long to die because he was at death’s door anyway, and honestly, it would be a mercy. 

His breathing was ragged mostly likely do to several broken and bruised ribs and a broken nose. His face was quite the swollen mess of black and blue, and he was surprised that his jaw wasn’t broken, but he was thankful none the less; it would be impossible to get answers out of him otherwise. 

Nile really just wanted Klaus to die already, but he knew that if Klaus died from any other means than from the complications of healing, then he would be the first person his husband would suspect, and that really would ruin everything he’d worked so hard for. 

He sighed and walked further into the modest room turned prison, and sat in the chair next to the bed, no doubt left by the resident healer who was given orders to do as little for him as possible. 

“Make sure he doesn’t make a mess. I really don’t want to have to deal the cleanup. This is one of my favorite guest rooms after all,” were his exact words, which everyone involved understood that to mean, “If he lives longer than expected, I will not be pleased.”

Nile needed to wake Klaus, but that would involve having to touch him at some point, and he really didn’t want to do that. He looked around the room to see if there was anything useful he could use for the job. When he saw a book, he crossed the room to the dresser and picked it up not paying any attention to the title but focusing on how thick it was. It was at least two and a half inches. He tested the weight in his hands. Not the heaviest tome he’d ever held but not the lightest either. It would do.

“Get up!” Nile threw the book at the old man as hard as he could. 

It missed, hitting the headboard instead of Klaus’ head, but it did the job as Klaus was startled awake with a groan on his lips. 

“I really don’t have any time for this. Get up!”

Klaus cracked his eye open. “Oh it’s just you,” he rasped, “I think I’ll just lie here for a moment longer.” 

Nile growled, “You are lucky, old man, that Darius has forbidden me to kill you because if it were up to me, you have died a long time ago. You didn’t hold your end of our bargain.” He took a step towards the bed. “I should have you killed to ensure your silence, but the King wishes you to remain a hero in the eyes of the people. If only he knew that you’re not to be trusted.”

“The same could be said for you.” Klaus glared up at him using his one good eye. 

“Don’t think that I still can’t have you killed.” Nile sneered. “Accidents happen all the time around here. It would be unfortunate if you were the victim of such a circumstance.” He sat in the chair, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in his robes. “Once we find Armin, I would hate to have to tell the truth behind his grandfather’s death. It would just kill him. I would hope that the resulting fall out wouldn’t result in his death as well. Such a shame it would be for one so young to take his own life.”

Klaus wheezed, “You’re a monster.”

“Takes one to know one.” Nile crossed his leg over his knee. “But you wouldn’t want poor little Armin to find out about that as well now would we?” 

Klaus started at him with his good eye for a long moment before closing it in resignation. “What do you want?” 

Nile leaned in. “I want to know how much that boy knows.”

“Absolutely nothing. He thinks I kidnapped him for my own selfish reasons. I had no time to explain anything to him before he ran off. He hates me.”

Nile smiled. “Good. I can work with this.”

He stood and walked to the door then paused. “And Klaus, if you live to see him again, I would hate to have to kill the both of you if he were to learn the truth. You’re already on thin ice. All it takes is the tiniest of cracks before you’ll plunge to your death.” He opened the door and slammed it behind him.


	10. The Queen of a neighboring kingdom wished them dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two chats, and an exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the impromptu break! I had a busy couple of weeks, but now I'm back on track! So for the exam scene, we go a bit into some uncomfortable/awkward medical stuff. Not too bad, but it definitely made me stop a giggle several times. So if you'd like to skip it, it's the very last scene of the chapter. Not a lot of important plot stuff maybe just at the very beginning which is the least awkward portion. Anyway, thanks Rem, and here's the chapter!

Armin pushed open the door to the King’s bedroom. He expected to meet him at some point, but he didn’t think it would be this soon. He wanted to have some time to get used to being in this environment. He’d only been a resident of their palace for less than twenty-four hours, and now he was in high demand. 

“So this is my son’s wayward soul mate.” Pixis was sitting up in bed, propped up by a mound of pillows. “Please, come and sit.” He gestured to the chair sitting next to the bed. 

Armin crossed the room and sat. Pixis was not at all how he imagined him to look. He was the first bald elf he’d seen since waking up in Shinghanshina. He also looked old which was strange because elves aged slowly, so that even if they were thousands of years old, they would appear to still be barely middle aged. 

“Side effect of fading,” Pixis spoke up, startling Armin.

“What?” 

“The aging. It happens when a member of a long time mated pair dies. My oialë amarto melmë* and I have been together for over two hundred years. When you are bonded, your life span is tied together, and it is extended well beyond a normal lifespan. When someone dies, rapid aging happens. If you’d have met me just a few weeks ago, I had enough long flowing blond hair to rival that of my sons.” He smiled. 

Armin just stared.

“How have things been for you here? I heard you had an interesting night last night...” he trailed off as if asking a question with his statement. 

“What do you want?” 

“I see you’re not one for small talk,” Pixis sighed. “Can I not just want to meet the one my son is destined to bond with?”

“You wouldn’t have asked me here just to meet and have a polite conversation. You don’t have any time for that. What exactly do you want from me?”

“Will you bond with my son?” 

So that’s what this is all about.

“My kingdom is failing. With my death drawing near, our enemies have become bolder and have been fighting over territory, as I’m sure you know about with your run in with the Shifters last night.” 

Armin nodded.

“Attacks on our outlying settlements have been increasing. Our troops are spread thin. We cannot survive as we are now. Erwin must bond with you. We need the strength of a united front, and it has to happen before my death or all of my people will be forced to suffer the consequences. Innocents will die. I will do anything I can to stop that from happening.” 

“Where exactly do I fit in with all of this?”

Pixis continued, ignoring Armin’s question, “The Elven King is a symbol of the forest kingdom like the Dwarven King represent the mountain folk. Without the symbol, it leaves us vulnerable to attacks not only from the other forest dwellers but from the humans as well. Our only saving grace is the wards that keep those that are unwanted from entering the forest, but they’re failing. I don’t have the strength to maintain the protective magics as well as those my bonded maintained. The Elven kingdom was meant to have two rulers. Without a king and consort on the throne, it leaves us unprotected. My people need you and Erwin to bond before the year is out. Any other alternative will lead us to our doom.”

Just as Armin expected, he was the only thing keeping an entire race of people from ruin. He took a deep breath looking at his lap, then met Pixis’ eyes. “What are your other alternatives?”  

“If Erwin isn’t bonded in time, my brother will take the throne which is tantamount to the end of Elven kind as we know it. He is much less tolerant of non-elven folk and with the way he wants to run things, he will tarnish every single last relationship we have, and we can’t afford that to happen.” 

Armin didn’t know how to respond to that. An entire race of people needed  _ him  _ out of everyone else in the world. He couldn’t process it. His mind was racing faster than his heart. His breath was coming in short pants. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t deal with the responsibility of all of those innocents.

“Armin?”

He only just turned sixteen! The most he’d ever been responsible for was the shop, and even then it wasn’t like books were living breathing things.

_ You would have been prepared for this if you grew up living in the palace. _ Yet another thing he could blame his Grandfather for. Why did this have to happen to him? Why couldn’t he have just been normal?

“Armin, breath.” 

He turned to Pixis.

“I-I-” he panted.

“Shh, don’t speak.” Pixis grabbed Armin’s hands. “Just match my breathing. Deep breath in,” he inhaled slowly. “And deep breath out.” He released it. 

Armin forced himself to match the pace that was set for him. 

“Again.” Pixis had Armin repeat the motions until he finally started to relax and take full breaths in. “Better now?” He let go of Armin’s hands.

“Y-yeah,” Armin’s voice was still a little shaky. “Sorry for freaking out like that.”

“No need to apologize.” Pixis waved his hand. “It happens to the best of us. I know all of this is a lot to take in, and we need an answer immediately. It’s a lot of pressure and I wouldn’t blame you if you chose not to bond with my son.” 

Armin shook his head. “I can’t just leave everything like this. I can’t be the one responsible for—”

“Armin, no one would blame you.”

And Armin believed him. He had a presence about him that made him want to trust his every word. No one would blame him, but that still didn’t make it right.

“Do you have any questions for me?” 

Armin nodded. He had so many questions, but of the one he truly wanted to ask, he was afraid of the answer, so instead he asked, “Do elves really only have one soul mate?” 

Pixis nodded. “Yes. Our souls are tied to only one other, but that’s not what you really want to know is it?” 

Armin looked at him and nodded his head a single time. There was no hiding anything from him. It was as if he could read his mind. 

“You want to know if you are the lost prince?” 

Again he nodded his head, looking down at his lap, hands clenched. 

Pixis took his time before he answered, and again instead of answering him out right, he started with something else. “I knew your mother very well. She was my late husband’s closest friend growing up. She was the kindest, most sincere person I knew. Everyone loved her despite the fact that her father was an Ascatnutë**; a bond breaker.”

“Bond breaker?” 

“A person that is a bonded pair that has relations outside of their bond. It’s a gross violation that happens very rarely. It usually only happens in mixed pairs and results in immediate fading of the other person. It’s just as violent of a death as a rejection. As a result, if you are found to have broken your bond, it is punishable by death.”

Armin shuddered at the thought. 

“Your mother rose above all the shame her father brought upon her family. She raised her younger siblings as her own, and we missed her family dearly when they moved to Sina. I’ll have to get someone to find her picture for you. You are her spitting image.”

Armin paused at that. “My mother was an elf?” 

Pixis shook his head. “Only half-elf. Her father was human.” 

“Then how did she meet the King of Sina?”

Pixis smiled. “Interesting story that. After her father’s execution, she often made visits to Trost, why? Only my husband knew; she never told anyone else. On her way back from one of those visits, she was caught in a storm. While looking for shelter, she came upon a young man who was lost and injured, and just so happened to be her soul mate. She got him to safety, and nursed him back to health, and they fell in love. She married him in his traditions and moved her family to Sina. It was because of her that relations between our nations improved greatly. Then when she died and you were lost to the King, he blamed my people and has been looking for ways to do away with us ever since. It’s why he closed the walls.”

None of this made any sense. “I’ve never heard of there being elves in the capital, let alone in the walls period.”

“You wouldn’t have. Not long after you were taken, your aunts and uncles all died from a mysterious illness that plagued the castle. Oddly enough, they were the only casualties.” Pixis frowned. 

“So I have no family left except for the king?” Armin knew it was going to be a long shot, but he hoped that he had someone here that was a connection to his family.  

“I’m so sorry dear boy, but no. There’s no one left not that I know of, but if there is anything I can do in regards to anything you need, please let me know.”

“I will.” He nodded to himself thinking over all the information he’d just learned. “I do have one thing to ask.”

“Go ahead.” 

“You knew my mother pretty well right?” 

Pixis nodded. 

“What do you think she would do if she were in my position?” 

“That is a very tough question, but knowing her, she would do whatever was best for those she cared about, even if it meant that she had to sacrifice her own needs and wants. She was a very generous woman, and the world is worse off for her not being here.”

Armin thought about what little he knew of his mother. She raised her siblings on her own. She even took care of a stranger when she didn’t have to. It supported what Pixis said, and he didn’t think the dying man would lie to him even though he desperately needed Armin’s help. What use would it be to destroy the trust of someone you needed to save your kingdom? 

“I’ll do it. I can’t in good conscience let an entire race of people suffer for something that I could have prevented.”

Pixis breathed a sigh of relief. “I thank you Armin.”

“I’ll do this, but on one condition.”

“Anything.” 

“It has to be done as soon as possible. I might change my mind otherwise.” He blushed lightly.

“The earliest it can be done is tomorrow evening; we’ll need at least that much time to prepare as it is a member of the royal family that is being bonded.”

“That sounds fine to me.”

“Good.” Pixis pulled a cord on the side of his bed, and not long after a servant appeared from a door that blended perfectly into the wall.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”  

“Please send word to the High Priest, royal court, and the head chef that we need to prepare for Erwin and Armin’s bonding ceremony, but before you do, please send in Bertolt to escort Armin to the private bathing chambers, and have Grisha sent for to do an examination there. He’ll need a full bond examination.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The elf curtsied, and left through the hidden door. Seconds later another elf appeared, and closed the door behind him waiting for further orders. 

“I should probably let Erwin know that I agreed to the bonding.” Armin’s faint blush had yet to have died down and deepened slightly.

“That you should. He’s still in the healing house, yes?” 

Armin shook his head no. 

“Well, you can tell him when you see him later. I know you were looked over this morning, but it is custom for those entering into a bonding courtship to have a full inspection. Please give my son my regards.” 

Armin nodded his head again unsure of what to say.  

“Are you ready to go, Your Highness?” Bertolt asked him, and Armin balked.

“Please just call me Armin.” 

The elf blushed. “I’m sorry, Your–Armin.” 

Armin giggled.

The elf blushed further and rushed to open the door. “This way A-Armin.”

Armin followed after him hoping that he made the right decision.

*** 

When they arrived at the private bathing chambers, Armin stopped at what he saw. In the center of the room was a pool large enough to fit at least five people comfortably. Along the edges of the room were shelves full with towels, bottles he assumed that were filled with soaps and oils, and hooks that held robes, there was also a shower tucked into the corner of the room, and a short table next to the pool where he assumed he could place any items that he would need so that it was within reach, but the biggest surprise was that Eren was waiting for him. 

“Adar sent me ahead with some of his supplies. I was there when he was finishing up with another patient and asked me to help him. I figured it would be the best opportunity to check on you myself. So how are you? And don’t give me some bullshit answer. You may have tricked me before, but I’m paying closer attention to you.”

“Sorry.” Armin could feel his cheeks burning. “I didn’t want to trick you, but I just needed out.”

“And now? I heard an interesting rumor that you’ve agreed to bond with Erwin. I’m assuming it’s true.” 

“Yes,” he mumbled. 

“Is this want you really want? Because if it’s not—”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine or at least I will be. I just have to get used to the idea.” He shrugged. “It can’t be that bad.” At least he hoped so. 

“It has its ups and downs. Now why don’t you hop into the shower to rinse off, and you can get in and get scrubbed.” 

Two servants entered the room from a hidden door in the wall bringing in a long padded table.  

“Don’t mind them. They’re just setting up for Adar’s examine.” They set it down in an empty corner of the room and promptly left closing the door behind them. Armin nodded and looked in the room for someplace to change. He couldn’t find one. 

“Umm, Eren?”

“What do you need?”

“Is there some place where I can get undressed?” 

Eren blinked at him. “You can get undressed in here.”

“In front of everyone?” Armin could feel another blush coming on. He was really getting tired of all of this blushing. He feared that if he blushed anymore, the rest of his body would be deprived of its much-needed blood.

“Yes,” Eren drew out the word. “It’s required as a part of the examination. Did no one tell you?” 

Armin shook his head.

Eren sighed. “Bertolt, get me a chair, this is going to take a while.”

“Yes, My Lord.” Bertolt bowed and left the room returning several minutes later with a very plush chair. 

“Oh! There’s a reason why you’re my favorite.” Eren grinned as he sat down. Bertolt rolled his eyes.

“Is that everything?” Bertolt asked.

“Yes, thank you!” 

Bertolt bowed and exited the room through the same door the other servants used earlier. 

“Now where was I?”

“You were about to explain the process of the examination,” Armin prompted. 

“Right! So as a part of initiating the courting process, each person is required to have a full body examination. It’s just to make sure that nothing medically is wrong before the bonding takes place because our life forces are tied together. Anything life threatening could potentially end the bond sooner than expected, and it’s better to postpone the ceremony for the other person to take the time to get healthy than to have both people die.”

“That makes sense, but why do I have to bathe in front of everyone?” 

“It’s to make sure that you can’t hide anything. Servants will wash you, pamper you, then when they’re done, Adar will give you a thorough health exam. It’s all basic stuff that all bonding pairs go through. The only difference is that the wealthier you are, the more expensive your pampering can be. So you get to choose from the good stuff!”

Armin rolled his eyes. “The good stuff is the least of my worries. I have to have strangers touching me while I’m naked?”

“It’s not that bad. It’s not like they’re going to fuck you afterward.”

Armin just about fainted. “But the still have to touch my…private areas,” he said the last bit in a whisper. 

“Yes, but it’s not like Adar won’t be doing the same thing.”

“That’s different!” 

Eren grinned. “How?” 

“He’s a healer! It’s his job.”

“It’s their job too. They train specifically to aide in the process of bonding preparation. It’s not something to be taken lightly. All they want is to make sure that your bonding goes as smoothly as possible. If you want I can stay here and help explain anything you’re confused about.” 

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Nope, and I won’t look at you when you’re naked either if that’s what you want. I can keep my eyes closed the whole time!” To prove his point, he closed his eyes. 

Armin considered Eren’s words and unbuttoned his shirt. He still felt uncomfortable about so many people being in the room, but with Eren there, he felt more at ease. He dropped his shirt to the floor and moved on to his pants and small clothes. He stepped out of them, moved on to the shower, and turned it on. 

Eren smiled.

“Can I ask you something else?” 

“Sure it’s what I’m here for.” 

“What exactly is your job? I mean you took care of my wounds and know a lot about what a healer does, but you said you’re not a healer. So what exactly do you do?” Armin turned to look at the back of Eren’s head.

“I’m a teacher, or at least I’m training to be one. My focus is on Elven customs and history.”

“If you’re still in training, then why are you spending all of your time with me? I don’t want to take you away from your studies.” 

“It’s no bother. I actually offered to help you out. Someone was going to have to, and it helps me practice.” 

Armin turned off the shower and walked over to the pool. He looked over at Eren. He still had his eyes closed. Comforted by that thought, he stuck a toe in the water. It was warm enough, so he squatted down until he was close enough to the water to slip in. 

“You can open your eyes if you want,” Armin offered. 

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.” Armin nodded then promptly blushed remembering Eren couldn’t actually see him. “It can’t be all that comfortable to talk to someone with your eyes closed.” 

“If you’re sure then.” Eren opened his eyes. “Have you chosen what soaps and oils you want to use?”

“Oh. I had forgotten about that. Do you know what kinds there are?” 

“Anything you could possibly think of I’m sure. You’re bonding with the prince, so I’d expect for them to give you a wide variety. Is there any scent you like in particular?” Eren stood and walked over to the shelves to peruse what they had.

“I honestly don’t know. I never really think about what smells I like other than the smell of old books, but I doubt that’s up there.”

“Well is there anything that you particularly want to feel? Like relaxed or energized?”

“Relaxed would be nice.”

“Relaxed it is then.” Eren plucked several bottles off of the shelf and brought them over to set on the low table. “These should be good. Are you ready to be scrubbed?”

“No, but do I really have a choice?”

Eren laughed. “I’ll send them in then.” He pulled a cord on the side of the shelf and a few minutes later the same elves that brought the table in reappeared, this time wearing some type of loincloth.

“He’s ready to bath now. I took the liberty of setting out some scents for you to use.” 

The men nodded their heads and walked over to the pool one of them slipping in, the other mixing the contents of a few of the bottles together in a small bowl. When he was satisfied, he grabbed a couple of small towels, and the bowl and slipped into the water as well. 

“Please don’t be nervous. We’re here to take care of you.” The dark haired elf smiled at him. 

“We won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable, but we still have to do our jobs,” the blond said. “So what can we do to make you more comfortable?” 

“Knowing your names might help,” Armin offered.

“I’m Gunther,” the brunet said.

“I’m Eld,” the blond replied. 

“Nice to meet the both of you.” Armin still felt nervous; having names to put with their faces helped a little, but he needed more. He just didn’t know what. 

“We’re going to start touching you now,” Eld spoke. 

“O-Okay.” Armin jerkily nodded his head. 

Eld moved to start on his front, and Gunther moved to start on his back. 

Armin closed his eyes and tensed, feeling the presence of their bodies so close to his.

“Is there anything else you wanted to know?” Armin jumped, causing the water to splash. Caught up in his nervousness he’d forgotten that Eren was still in the room. 

Armin turned his head to see that he was back to sitting in the chair, hand absently stroking his belly. 

“How exactly does the ceremony work? You talked about it briefly, but what do I have to do?”

“Well, for starters, you’ll enter into the bonding chamber wearing only a cloak, same as Erwin, then the High Priest will guide you through the rest. You just have to do what he says when he says to do it. It’s pretty simple. Also, you have a choice of who you want to be your witnesses. Normally, it’s your parents, but in your case, you’ll have to pick someone that you feel comfortable with having there.” 

The more Eren spoke, the more relaxed he became.  

“Lift your arms,” Gunther murmured, and Armin did as he was told.

“But do I have to be naked and drink blood?” Armin grimaced at the thought. 

“Yes and yes. It’s really not that bad. They’re important symbols. Being naked shows that you have nothing to hide and that you accept not only all of your flaws but all of your partners’ as well. Drinking the blood, which there’s barely any, ties the both of you together. Plus, you have to have the symbols of the gifts painted onto you. It’s fewer chances of there being a mess. Just think about it this way, at least you don’t have any family there to stare at you.” Eren grimaced. “Now that was awkward.”

“But I would imagine that your parents have seen you naked more than a handful of times over your life.” 

Eld and Gunther motioned for Armin to sit on the ledge of the pool so they could scrub his legs and thighs. 

“It’s still weird. It wasn’t like they’d seen me recently. I wouldn’t even allow Adar to give me the examination.”

Gunther got out of the pool and sat behind Armin to wash his hair. 

“That doesn’t make any sense. Earlier you were meeting with him for a check up on the baby, but you wouldn’t let him take care of an exam he’s probably performed thousands of times?” Armin frowned.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Eren pouted. “Besides, the whole baby checkup thing was Levi’s insistence. He only wanted the best taking care of me, which just so happens to be Adar. If I had my way, he wouldn’t have been involved at all. It’s really weird having him messing about down there.” Eren shuddered.

Armin understood what he meant. If Grandfather was a healer, he wouldn’t want him anywhere near his privates. 

“I need you to rinse your hair,” Gunther said. 

“Okay.” Armin slipped back into the pool and dunked his head. When he came back up, he shook out his wet locks and realized that both Eld and Gunther were out of the pool grabbing towels and preparing the table that they brought in earlier. 

Armin decided to stay in the pool until he was needed. “So what was your bonding like?” 

Eren hummed thinking about it. “It was hard at first. Going through the initial ceremony like I said wasn’t so bad, once you get over the fact that you’re standing naked in a room staring at your equally naked intended while a bunch of people are watching you, but that’s easy compared to completing the gifts.” 

“Why is that?” 

“Well if it was a traditional gift it would be easy. All you’d have to do is go out and buy something that fits the requirement, but that’s not what it’s all about. The gifts are more symbolic than anything, and are only triggered by a sincere offering of yourself.”

“That makes no sense.” 

Eren sighed. “Think of it like this, it’s like you have to show your potential in a specific area. So, for example, one of the gifts is strength. So you have to prove how strong you are, but not like I can lift a bunch of weights or beat everyone in a sword fight. It’s more like proving how emotionally strong you are like you’d be willing to do whatever you had to for the person you care about regardless of everything else. I don’t know it’s hard to explain. Even when I was completing my gifts, I didn’t quite understand why a gift was completed, and sometimes I didn’t even notice until someone pointed it out. Does that make any sense? I feel like I’m just rambling.” 

“No, I think I get it.” 

Eld asked Armin to get out of the pool so they could dry him off.

“Instead of a physical object showing that you have strength, you actually have to do some sort of action that proves that you have it.”

“Exactly! But it can’t just be any action, and has to be specifically for your intended otherwise it doesn’t count.” Once Armin was dry, Eld and Gunther had him lie down on the table to give him a massage. 

“How long did it take you to finish them?”

“Six months, which is a little faster than average; most take closer to a year. The only reason why it went so fast for us was because Levi was desperate to prove himself worthy of me. Adar’s not too fond of him.” 

Armin thought about the short elf and had to agree with Eren’s father’s assessment of him. “Why? Was it because he’s so stoic?” 

Eren laughed. “No, it had more to do with the fact that he was an orphan that lived with a street gang in the Capital of Sina before the walls closed. Being an orphan is forgivable, being a criminal not so much.”

Armin could definitely see Levi as a criminal. He certainly had the attitude for it. “If that’s the case why would you bond with him? Are you two soul mates?”

“That’s exactly the reason. We didn’t meet until I was old enough to start learning basic combat skills, but from the first moment our eyes met, I knew he was mine, and I was his which absolutely terrified him. He had no clue what was going on, and he thought he was dying until someone explained it to him, but once he understood what was going on, he took every opportunity to avoid me.” Eren smiled to himself. 

“Turn over.” Eld gently prodded Armin. 

He hadn’t even realized that they were still there. He just felt very relaxed and sleepy. He rolled over. 

“He was afraid of our age difference and didn’t want to be seen as taking advantage of me. He was already disliked enough by the rest of the court, as the King and High Consort took him in and raised him as their own, but when we first saw each other, I wasn’t at the age where bonding was allowed. I didn’t care about any of that and forced my way into his life. It pissed him off to no end, but I refused to let him ignore me. Eventually, he just gave up ignoring me, and we eventually started to get to know each other, and here we are.” Eren finished and looked over at the table. Armin was asleep. 

Eren rolled his eyes. 

“We’re finished.” Eld turned to Eren while Gunther started cleaning up the space. “Do you want me to wake him?” 

“No, just leave him be. I’ll wake him when my Adar gets here. But could you drop a robe on him? I don’t want him getting cold.” 

Eld nodded his head and grabbed one of the robes and placed it on his body. He then joined Gunther’s efforts in cleaning the room. The pool was drained and rinsed out, the used bottles were placed back on their respective shelves, and the used towels were gathered and placed in a bin to be taken later to the laundry. 

“Is there anything else you need, Eren?” Gunther picked up the laundry basket and prepared to head out of the room. 

“Could you bring me a snack? Just some fruit or something would be nice.”

“I’ll get it for him,” Eld offered. “You can go ahead and take the washing to the laundry.” 

The two elves left the room leaving Eren to watch over the sleeping Armin. 

***

“Wake up, Armin.”

Armin felt someone shaking his shoulder. 

“Five more minutes, Grandfather,” he mumbled sleepily. 

“Armin, I need to examine you, and you need to be awake for that.” The presence continued to shake him awake. 

Armin rolled over and opened his eyes to realize that he wasn’t in his cozy bedroom, but in the bathing chamber of an elven palace. Grisha Jaeger and Petra Ral stood over him, not his Grandfather. He could feel the tears welling in his eyes. 

“Are you alright?” Petra asked.

“I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with.” He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the table. “What do you need me to do?” 

Grisha held out a small vial containing a pinkish liquid. “I need you to drink this, and lie back.” 

Armin took the vial, and downed the liquid, squeezing his eyes at the taste. As he swallowed it felt like it clung to every surface it touched as it traveled through his body. “What’s it for?” 

“I use it help see your internal systems better. It’s made to stick to certain bodily fluids, so when I call up a scan with my magic, it will show how it’s passing through your body. Once that’s done, I give you the antidote, and we can move on to other tests. Are you ready?”

Armin nodded his head and lay back on the table. 

Grisha started muttering a phrase in elvish that sounded like a song and above his body lights began to form. They danced together, hovering just above his skin. They looked like a group of fireflies decided to make strange shapes. Grisha finished his song like chant, and made humming noises. Some pleased, some not so much. He turned and dug around is his bag, and pulled out another vile.

“I need you to take this please.”

“Is this the antidote?” Armin uncorked the vial and drank it down. 

“No, it’s to enhance the potion that’s already in your system.” 

Armin frowned. “Is there something wrong?” Armin didn’t like how Grisha was staring at him.

“I just want to make sure of something before we continue. Now I need you to be absolutely still for this one.” 

Armin nodded, then Grisha began another song like spell. This one was much longer than the other one, and alongside the golden lights dancing above him, blue lights began to form taking on more distinct shapes. 

Grisha sighed and nodded his head. He muttered another phrase and both colored lights dissipated. “Armin, I want you to be honest with me.”

“Okay, what is it?” He felt his heart beginning to race. 

“Did you lie to me yesterday when I asked if you were a bearer?” 

Armin could feel his panic rising. His breathing became irregular, sweat pooled in his palms. He couldn’t answer. 

“Armin?”

“Y-y-yes?”

“You’re not in trouble. I just need to know. Certain potions are dangerous for bearers to take, and if I accidentally gave you one, you could die. You should know by now that birthing status doesn’t matter as much as it does in Sina. No one will treat you any differently for it.”

Armin couldn’t believe his ears. He should have realized it by Eren’s comments yesterday when they first met, but he’d spent his entire life trying to hide that part of himself away that it had become second nature to lie to Grisha earlier that morning when he asked. 

“So are you a bearer?”

“Yes,” he said barely of a whisper. 

“What was that? I need you to speak up.” 

“Yes,” he said louder. “I’m a bearer.” 

“Just as I thought; have you been taking your supplements?” 

He shook his head. “Not for the past few months. The supplier that Grandfather went to was caught and arrested for selling potions to unregistered bearers. He hasn’t been able to find someone that he trusted to go to for them, and the ingredients are too expensive to get on their own.” 

“Then we’ll have to get you back on them. How have the side effects of being off them been?” 

“Manageable. They’re aren’t so bad that I can’t function.” 

“What about your last cycle? Have they been regular or irregular since you’ve stopped taking the potion?” 

“I honestly haven’t noticed. I’m horrible at keeping track as it is, and with having to keep it a secret makes it harder for me to remember.”

Grisha sighed. “Do you remember when the last one was? You should be having one once every other month.”

Armin pursed his lips in thought, he really couldn’t remember. “August for sure, and the next one should have been last month, but I don’t remember.” 

“All right then the next time it happens I need you to keep track of the date and how long it lasts. I’m also going to send Petra with a batch of your potions. Take them starting tonight. You only need to take them once a day, and preferably at the same time every day just so you don’t forget. You’ll be taking a nutrient, a stabilizer, and we’ll also give you for mild pain. That one you’ll only take if you need it.” 

Armin nodded his head. 

“Now that that is taken care of I’m going to need to do a rectal exam. I’m going to assume that you’ve never had one since you’ve been hiding your status?”

“I had one once when I was little because Grandfather thought something was wrong, but I haven’t had once since.” 

“Okay, so what I’m going to need you to do is kneel on the table bottom facing me and knees spread apart.” He picked up a strange looking instrument and a vial of blue liquid. 

Armin’s eyes widened and he paled. “Are you going to stick that in me?” 

“It’s not as bad as it looks. This will give me a clear vision of what’s going on inside of you.”

“Is it really necessary?” It looked like it was going to be painful.

Grisha sighed and adjusted his glasses. “If I don’t do it, I can’t fully complete the exam, and you won’t be bonded tomorrow. All men have to do this at some point in their lives especially bearers. You need to be checked at least once a year. It only takes a few minutes, and I’ll be done.” 

“It’s really not that bad Armin.” Petra offered. 

Armin sighed. “Okay.” He got up on his knees and faced away from them. At least like this, they couldn’t see the embarrassment covering his face. “Like this?”

“Yes, now keep still. This is going to feel a little cold and strange, but I’ll try to be quick about it.” 

Armin felt hands part his cheeks, and he resisted the temptation to kick out. He felt someone apply a cold liquid around his entrance, then something blunt pressed against him. He froze. 

“Armin, I’m going to need you to relax, or it’s not going to go in. Take a deep breath in and out, then push out like you’re trying to defecate.” 

Armin did as he was asked, and this time, when he felt the blunt instrument at his entrance, it went in. His eyes widened and he gasped. He heard Grisha and Petra discussing whatever it was they were doing, but he honestly could not pay attention. Something was in his butt for the first time that he could fully remember. Was this what sex was like? He hoped not. There was an odd sort of fullness that he didn’t know what to make of. It also stung quite a bit, but not as much as he thought it was going to. He focused on breathing and prayed that they would be done soon, so he could put some clothes on and hide in his room until they needed him the next day. 

Then before he even realized it, the strange contraption was removed, and he felt empty once again.

“All done,” Grisha said. “Based on this, and the notes I compiled earlier, you’re in pretty good health. You’re just a tad underweight for your height and age, but like I said yesterday a few regular meals should fix that. You’re free to get cleaned up and get some clothes on. Eren took the liberty of having some brought up for you. They’re sitting on the shelf where the towels are located. He’s waiting for you just outside, so you’ll have someone to show you around. Do you have any questions?”

“No.” Armin just wanted them gone as soon as possible, so he could leave. 

“All right, we’ll see you later then.” Grisha and Petra packed up their supplies and left. 

Armin breathed a sigh of relief. He slid off the table and grabbed a clean towel to wet and clean himself up with. He found the clothes, which happened to be Elven in design, and put them on to the best of his knowledge. With that done, he finally left the room. Across the hall, Eren sat in a chair sleeping. He tapped him on the shoulder waking him instantly.

“All finished,” he yawned stretching.

“Yeah.” 

“Good! I’m starving! You probably are too. You can have dinner with Levi and me.” He stood up with a little difficulty, but once on his feet, he was off and ready to go. “You know you’re wearing the tunics wrong?”

“I am?” He looked down at himself.

“You have the underlayer on top, here arms up.” Eren helped him fix his clothes in the middle of the empty hallway. “There that’s much better. Now let’s go. Levi said we were having my favorite tonight.”

Armin looked at him. “That was the most motherly thing I have ever seen.”

Eren blushed and tried to glare. “If you tell Levi, I’ll kill you.”

Armin just smiled at him. 

_ I could get used to living here as long as Eren’s here with me. _ He thought, and this gave him an idea.

“Hey, Eren?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Would you and Levi mind being my witnesses for tomorrow? It’s just that I don’t have anyone else here, and you’ve just been so nice and helpful. I think I’d be more at ease if you were there with me tomorrow.”

“I’d be honored.” He smiled. 

Armin smiled back grateful that he had someone there that he could confide in. “Now, what is it that Levi promised for dinner?”

Eren began enthusiastically describing the meal as they walked to his suite rooms. 

***

* oialë amarto melmë- forever fated love

** Ascatnutë- two words ascat (break asunder) nutë (bond) 


	11. Since the boy was the true heir to His kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courtship beginnings, new clothes, and a ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Pst* Remmy is the best. Pass it on.

“We are gathered here today to witness the initiation of courtship between Armin, Prince of Sina, and Erwin, Prince of Shinghanshina,” the priest intoned. 

His tone was serious, but all Armin could focus on was how naked he was underneath his dark green cloak. It covered him from head to toe and was clasped together with a golden wing shaped broach. The hood was up hiding his face from sight, which he was very glad for because he was sure he looked like a tomato.

Erwin’s hood was up as well, so he couldn’t see his expression. He never actually got the chance to tell him the news in person. After he had eaten dinner with Levi and Eren, he was visited by the royal tailor to get his measurements taken to make the current robe he was wearing, as well as for the attire he was to wear at tonight’s celebration, and clothes for him to wear in general as he had very little with him. He wanted to see Erwin earlier that day, but as soon as he woke, he was whisked off to prepare for the evening though he still wasn’t clear why most of the things he was forced to do that day were necessary. He was going to spend a good portion of the ceremony naked anyway. 

“Armin.” 

He felt Eren nudged him, and he realized that something important must have been said because everyone was staring at him impatiently. 

“Sorry.” If he wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now. “Could you repeat that?”

“He’s just a little nervous.” Eren covered for him, and everyone seemed to accept that. 

“Do you fully understand the commitment that this bond entails and embrace them with your whole being?” 

“Yes.” 

The priest turned to Erwin and asked him the same question, receiving the same reply. “Then remove your covering, and embrace your future.” 

Armin’s heart sped up as he felt everything else slow down. His eyes were focused solely on his hands undoing the broach, but it was as if he was in a dream. Everything was happening slowly, yet way too fast. Before he even realized it, Eren was removing the cloak from his shoulders, and he was completely naked for all in the room to see. Granted it was only six other people, but that was the most people to have ever seen him naked in his life. He tried not to look anywhere except at Erwin’s face, but his eyes unconsciously wandered down his body. They stopped when they reached his cock, and that was when he came back to himself, and returned his gaze to Erwin’s eyes. 

Erwin smirked.

Armin turned away. 

The priest continued rambling on, and he forced himself to pay attention. 

“I now place into the bowl of commitment the wine of love and the flowers that symbolize the foundation of your bond. For strength there is cedar, for compassion there is allspice, for humility, there is broom flower, for integrity there is gentian, and for passion there is white dittany of Crete.” He sprinkled the petals into the bowl. “To forge an unbreakable bond, the blood of the committed must be willingly spilled.” He pulled out a short ornate dagger and held it out between them. “Armin, please take the dagger and repeat after me while slicing your palm.” 

Armin took the dagger and repeated, “Coivenya, indo-ninya, nutenya oilaelda*.” He sliced his palm over the bowl. Logically, he knew it was going to hurt, but nothing actually can prepare you for that moment. He wanted to curse at the stinging pain, but he bit his lip instead to control the urge. His blood dripped into the bowl, making a gentle splash. Almost immediately, Eren was wrapping a bandage around his hand.

“Erwin, please take the dagger, and repeat after me while slicing your palm.” 

“Coivenya, indo-ninya, nutenya oilaelda.” He sliced his palm over the bowl with little more than a slight grimace. He let his blood drip into the bowl, and a bandage was wrapped similarly around his hand by his father. 

The priest took a pestle and ground the mixture together in a thick liquid. He spoke a phrase in Elvish and the mixture glowed a hazy red before fading. He took a small brush, and stood before Armin. 

“These marks I place on your body are an outward symbol of your inner devotion to this bond.” He touched the brush to the skin of his collarbone and began to chant the same phrase he spoke when mixing the liquid. 

Armin hissed. He did not expect it to actually hurt. He wished someone had told him, so he could at least have prepared himself. With each brush stroke, a searing pain was burned into his skin. It only took him several minutes to paint the marks onto his skin, but it felt like hours. The final brush stroke finally came, and the pain abated. He turned to Erwin and repeated the same process, then returned to stand before the small group.

“The fates have brought you together, but it is your choice in how you walk the path set before you. Let the marks upon your skin guide you to your future happiness. You may now kiss to seal the commitment you have pledged.”

Armin and Erwin stepped together. 

Armin tilted his head up, closed his eyes, and hoped certain dangly bits didn’t touch. He really wasn’t prepared for that.  

Erwin rested his hand on his cheek, and leaned down to brush their lips together. 

Armin gasped. A shock of electricity ran through his body. Erwin took that moment to slip his tongue between his lips, deepening the kiss. Armin’s entire body began to thrum with pent up energy. The marks on his skin burned, and his body felt consumed by flames. He moaned at the pleasant sensation it caused. It hurt, but at the same time, it made him feel really good. All too soon the kiss was over, and Erwin pulled away, letting him go.  

His skin still burned. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Erwin was just as flush. 

The priest spoke again wrapping them in a ceremonial blanket, but Armin ignored him for a completely different reason. Normal kissing didn’t feel like that. He knew that for a fact because during a game of truth or dare, Sasha dared him to kiss Connie thinking he’d pull a chicken and have to jump naked in the fountain in the center of town, but she underestimated the fear of his Grandfather’s wrath. The kiss was really no more than a peck. It felt weird because kissing one of your best friends in front your other best friend was always weird, but this kiss brought on a host of other weird feelings. 

“Armin?”

He turned to see Eren staring at him with concern. “Hm?” 

“We’ve got to get you dressed now.” Eren wrapped the cloak he’d been holding for the ceremony around his shoulders. 

He didn’t even realize that the blanket had been removed. 

“We need to hurry. I’m sure your guests are waiting.” Eren ushered him out of the room and into an antechamber. 

Armin followed after him at a much slower pace, fingers brushing his lips.

“Armin!” 

He jumped looking up to Eren holding the door open for him. He picked up his pace.

“Are you okay?” Eren closed the door behind him.

“I don’t know. I think so? It feels like my skin is burning and tingly. Is that normal?”

“Yep, it’ll wear off soon enough. It’s just the magic settling in your body. Plus, some of your marks have become permanent. Now get your clothes on, I’m pretty sure everyone is dying with anticipation to see you.” He pushed Armin to the corner where his new clothes were waiting for him. 

“Some marks are permanent?” Armin turned to check and sure enough the symbols for strength and compassion had blackened standing out against his pale skin. “How did that happen? I thought that only happened after the gift was completed after the ceremony was over?” He brushed his fingers against them feeling no pain. 

“The priest explained that it happens sometimes when a gift is given relatively close to the commitment ceremony. Probably had to do with everything that’s happened the past couple of days. Now stop staring at yourself and get dressed!” Eren ordered.

“You already sound like a mother.” Armin smirked. 

“I’ll have you know that amal is a term given to women. Need I remind you that I have a penis? Do you need proof?” He began to fiddle with the closures on his leggings.

Armin covered his eyes. “No! I’m good. You don’t need to show me anything!” 

Eren chuckled. “Good because it took too damn long getting these on in the first place. The proper term for a man that can give birth in elvish is Ada.”

“Ada?” Armin whispered to himself as he pulled on his own leggings. “It sounds much better than bearer.” 

“That I can agree on, how your people come up with the names of some things completely baffles me. Do you need any help?” Eren looked at him very concerned when he noticed that he was starting to put on his tunics in the wrong order.

“Yes?”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Ok so the first layer is the short plain shirt with the wide collar, then you put on the tunic, which is the one that goes to your mid-thigh, and finally goes the long coat.”

Armin rearranged the clothes so that they were in the right order, and put them on. The first shirt was easy enough, but when he put on the tunic, trouble started.

“Why are there so many buttons?” 

“I’m not a tailor, don’t ask me.” 

Armin rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you training to be a teacher?”

“Yes, but my area of expertise is not in Elven tailor practices. Just suck it up and deal.”

Armin grumbled the entire time. When he reached the last button he realized there was a strange gap between the top of his chest and his neck and then a high collar finished it off. 

“Um Eren, why is there a hole in my tunic?” He looked at himself in the mirror, then looked at the final piece of clothing. “Why is there a hole in the coat?”

“Oh it’s to show off your marks. All of your clothes from now until you complete the bond will have them. It’s to show that you’re off limits to potential suitors. It also shows how close you are to completing the bond.”

“But what about when it gets cold?”

“Special fabric. It’s completely see through, like it’s not even there. It’s woven from this special spider’s silk, but this is nothing in comparison to what your bonding robes will look like.”

Armin blinked at him. “Elves are weird.”

“Just put your clothes on so we can go.”

Armin readily complied. With the final piece on and buttoned, Eren rushed him out of the room, and to the staircase leading to the Grand Ballroom. 

“Now remember, the witnesses will be announced first. Then you and Erwin will be announced. You’ll each walk down your sides of the staircase, meet in the middle, and walk down together. Once that’s done, you’re free to do whatever, just don’t go anywhere by yourself. Make sure either Erwin, Levi, or I am with you at all times. There have been grumblings about Erwin taking the throne.” 

Armin’s eyes widened.

“You should be fine. It’s just a precaution.”  

“Finally, you two show up! What took you so long? Everyone else is here.” Levi glared at them as they approached. 

“We’re here now and that’s all that matters.” Eren looked at the elf in charge of announcing their presence. “We’re ready to go!”

The elf nodded, looked across the way to the other side of the split staircase, making some sort of gesture. Music started playing softly, and he along with the elf on the opposite side descended the stairs stopping at the landing in the middle. 

“People of Shinghanshina, I hereby present to you His Royal Highness, King Pixis of Shinghanshina and his brother Prince Shadis!” 

Two men walked down Erwin’s side of the staircase side by side and stopped at the landing waiting for their next cue. 

“People of Shinghanshina, I hereby present to you Lance Corporal Levi and his bonded Eren!”

“That’s us! Good luck, Armin” Eren called over his shoulder as Levi took his arm and helped him down the staircase to the landing. 

They met in the middle and exchanged pleasantries with the two men, and the four of them together continued down the last stretch of staircase. 

“People of Shinghanshina, I hereby present to you, his Royal Highness, Crown Prince Erwin of Shinghanshina!”

Erwin finally walks down the stairs. His clothes were very different from Armin’s. Unlike him, Erwin wore gold and green. His crown was a circlet that resembled a pair of outstretched wings. His tunic went down to his shins and his long coat was sleeveless and remained open showing the intricate designs of his long sleeved tunic. He had the same high collar and exposed bit of chest, but that was it.    

“People of Shinghanshina, I hereby present to you, his Royal Highness, Crown Prince Armin of Sina!”

Armin took a deep calming breath, and walked down the stairs. 

***

Erwin’s breath caught in his throat not prepared for the sight before him. Armin stood tall in silver and blue. His long coat was buttoned from his stomach all the way up to the top of his neck only revealing a bit of his legs encased in knee high boots as he walked. It trailed the stairs behind him fluttering all the while, making it appear that he was floating. A crown of roses was woven in his hair to take the place if his missing crown. Armin stopped before him, and he bowed. Armin curtsied. He held out his arm, and they continued down the stairs. 

“You look wonderful,” he leaned down and murmured into Armin’s ear. 

“You do too.” Armin looked up at him and blushed. “Sorry for how I acted before. I just… This is all new, and I didn’t expect any of this—”

“It’s okay. I understand. Me too, I’m sorry I mean. I should have been more patient. Truce?” 

Armin nodded his head. “Truce.” 

They walked around the ballroom in a single circuit, as per tradition, introducing themselves to the guests that gathered there. As soon as they were finished, he brought Armin out to the center of the dance floor to initiate their first dance and to open the floor for their guests to join them. 

Gentle music flowed around them as he led them around the room, but silence was the only thing between them. He had no clue what to talk about. Erwin always thought that courting your soul mate would be easy. They were your perfect match for a reason, so they’d obviously get along and have things in common. There should be loads of things that they could talk about, yet nothing came to mind. This was going to be harder than he thought. 

“So…you look wonderful tonight.”

“You said that.” Armin frowned.

“Right.” He blushed. “Umm, so how is life?” 

“It would be better if I hadn’t been kidnapped.” 

“I said I was sorry!” 

“You apologized for how you did it, but not for actually doing it.”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about it.” 

“I never agreed to that.” 

Erwin groaned. Things were going fine until he opened his mouth. “Well can you just drop it?”

“Look, I understand why you did it, but that’s not an excuse. You took me away from the only chance I had at meeting my real family. I may never get the chance now that I’m here.” Armin looked down at their feet. “I promised your father that I would see this through for the good of your people. I’m not just going to abandon you to your death, but that leaves any chance of meeting my family behind me. The least you can do is make it up to me.” 

Erwin screwed up again for what felt like the millionth time since he felt the soul mate tug for the second time in his life, and he really had no clue how to fix it. Giving him up was not an option, but he’d figure something out. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry. I regret any pain that I have caused you. If there is anything that I can do to make it up to you, please let me know.”

“Ow,” Armin hissed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I felt my chest burning.” He reached up a hand and rubbed at the open space.

“Looks like you’ve completed another gift.” Erwin smiled noting the newly backend skin.

“Oh! So have you!” 

And that’s when he realized the slight burning of his own skin. “I guess I have.” One step closer to bonding. 

“Your father mentioned that he knew my mother.” 

Erwin nodded in affirmation. 

“Have met her?” Armin looked up at him.

Erwin thought back to that time of his childhood. “Once before your christening, I was really young.”

“What did she look like?”

“You, but taller and dark hair, dark eyes as well. There’s a picture of her in some of Ada’s old things I think. I’ll have to find it for you.” He smiled. This was definitely something he could do. 

“Do you know if there’s anything else she may have left behind or anything about her family? I want to find anything that I can.” 

“I’ll see what I can do.”

***

Shadis knew his brother was an idiot, probably the biggest idiot he’d ever come across. Instead of solving all of their problems by stepping down from the throne and crowning him king, he’d decided to throw a party for his son and son’s mate, knowing good and well that they will be the destruction of them all. How he could parade around when he should be in bed resting, Shadis would never know, but Pixis wasn’t one for logic that much was certain.

“Are you sure this is wise to let this all go through? To risk everything on the two of them knowing that only bad will come from it?” He looked to his nephew dancing awkwardly with his intended. 

“Just let them be. Everything will work out as it should. We just need to be patient and watch.” Pixis ever the calm one with his sage advice. 

“Tch, you’re going to get us all killed, and for what?” He shook his head. “You would think that you want the destruction of the Elven race. It was your mate that predicted his own death and the death of his people, so you know his prophecy will come true. Are you that heartbroken that you want to die and take everyone with you?” He scowled.

“We don’t know what his prophecy truly meant. There are many interpretations. Yours is just one of many.”

“It is the most popular and widely accepted interpretation! Don’t let your fading cloud your judgment.”

“And don’t let your anger cloud yours,” Pixis admonished. “You are here to celebrate the commitment of your nephew and his intended, so act like it. I tire of this conversation, leave me.” Pixis left no room for argument. 

Shadis turned away from his brother and stomped off. He’d find a way for him to see to reason.  

***

* Coivenya, indo-ninya, nutenya oilaelda- My life my heart my bond is forever yours


	12. The noble and the boy's friends discovered this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise, a search, and some relationship advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remmy was like Super Remmy with this chapter :)

Armin hated surprises. They were unpredictable and usually ended badly for him in some way. Case in point, he was very surprised to learn that he was kidnapped at birth, and it ended up with him being kidnapped for the second time in his life. He would have preferred it if people told him things. It was more logical, and it left him with more time to adjust to his circumstances.  

So when Levi pulled him out of his Elvish history lesson because Erwin needed him urgently, panic settled in his gut. The only reason he could think that he was urgently needed would be if something was wrong with Erwin’s Adar, and if something was wrong with him, then that left them less time to finish this bonding business, and he was already pressed for time as it was. Falling for someone took time, and that was a luxury neither of them had, although it seemed that Erwin was well on his way to that point. How the older elf could fall so easily he’d never know. 

“Levi!” 

They both turned at the voice, and there Erwin was, looking as calm as ever.

“I’ve delivered him. Can I go? I do have a job you know. I’m not just your errand boy.” 

“Thank you, Levi.” Erwin just smiled at him. 

“Whatever. Next time you need him, do it yourself. You have two legs; use them. Now stop bothering me.” Levi stomped off, muttering to himself about love sick idiots. 

Erwin stared off after Levi with a fond smile on his face, but Armin wanted to know what was so important that he needed to be dragged out of a lesson for. He stood before Erwin, arms crossed over his chest, foot tapping, but Erwin had yet to make any motion to do whatever it was he dragged him there for. “Erwin, what is it that you want? I was in the middle of something.” 

“Oh, sorry, I just got lost in thought. Here.” He pulled a scrap of fabric out of a pocket. “Let me put this on you.” He moved to stand behind him, but Armin ducked out of the way. 

“What are you doing?” 

“It’s a surprise.” 

Armin groaned. 

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m just not overly fond of surprises.” 

Erwin scrunched up his face then smiled. “Well, you’ll like this one. I promise. Just let me blindfold you? It’ll only take a few minutes, and then it will be over.” 

Armin stared at him skeptically. 

“Please? Just try to trust me on this.” Erwin looked confident, his posture was relaxed, and he stood tall, fabric in his hand extended in offer. 

Armin sighed. “Fine, but I better not regret this.” He turned his back to Erwin and let him put the blindfold on. 

“You won’t. Now hold onto my arm, and walk slowly.” 

“You better not let me run into anything.” 

“I won’t.”

Erwin gently pulled him along. They must have been close to the surprise because it only took a few minutes before they finally stopped. Erwin let go of his arm and told him to stay put which was stupid because why would he try moving around when he was blind. 

He could hear Erwin moving about the room doing what sounded like opening drapes which were further cemented when he could feel a drastic change in the lighting around the room. It felt like the room was getting brighter. Then Erwin’s presence came back behind him, and he removed the blindfold. 

“Open your eyes.” 

He did as commanded. It took him a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room, and when they did he was disappointed. 

“All of this to show me to a section in the library? You do realize I’ve been in here before, right?” He turned to Erwin, eyebrow cocked.

“It’s not just any section of the library. This is where family history records are stored. All prominent families have one stored here. I figured this could be of use in helping to find your family. It’s not much, but it’s a start.” 

Armin stood there, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. Before he realized it, he threw his arms around Erwin’s waist, burying his face in his chest. 

“Thank you,” he breathed looking up at Erwin’s shocked face. Then he realized the position they were in and backed away from him, cheeks burning. 

“You’re welcome.” Erwin smiled and motioned to a nearby table ladened with books. “I took the liberty of grabbing some that may be helpful. I can’t stay too long, but I can help you look until I need to go.” 

“You don’t have to. I’m sure you have important prince things to do.”

Erwin scratched the back of his neck, ducking his head. “I want to help. I said I would, and I may not be able to do much, but this is something I can do.” He looked up at him. “All the things you find important, I want to take part in.” 

Armin nodded his head. “Alright, you can help.” 

They both sat across from each other and pulled books towards them.  

***

Night had fallen, and Eren wasn’t too pleased to be out of bed at this hour. He walked the darkened halls, lantern in one hand, the other resting on his protruding belly, looking for Armin. He hadn’t shown up for dinner, and when he asked Berthold, who was sent to fetch him, why he declined to dine with them, he was told that he would eat dinner in his rooms that night. Erwin had explained that he finally showed him the surprise he’d been planning and was probably absorbed in his work. 

Hours later, when Levi answered a knock on their door, he did not expect to find a panicked Berthold. Apparently, Armin wasn’t in his room. Berthold had come to deliver his next batch of potions from Healer Grisha, but when he opened the door, the bed was still made from earlier in the morning, and the plate of food that he had left for him to eat was untouched. He didn’t know what to do as he didn’t want to set off panic just in case it was nothing. Levi grumbled and told him to stay put while he went out to find him, but Eren was restless and wide awake so he figured he could be of some use. He had a pretty good idea of where he was. 

He opened the door to the library and walked past the various shelves until he arrived at the section he’d been looking for. A lamp very much like his own was glowing, and there amongst a large pile of books was Armin, dead asleep. Eren chuckled and focused all of his thoughts on Levi until he felt his bond tug back. 

_ What do you want?  _ Levi’s tired voiced filtered in.  _ I thought you went back to sleep? _

_ Couldn’t, the baby was restless. Are you any closer to finding Armin? _

_ No. It appears the mushroom has done another runner.  _

_ Are you sure about that?  _ He asked tone teasing. Eren felt irritation coming from the other side of the bond.

_ You know where he is, don’t you? _

_ Yep. _

_ Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?  _

Eren snorted.  _ He’s in the library. I figured that would have been the first place you looked. Where are you?   _ Levi didn’t respond, but the embarrassment he felt spoke volumes. 

_ Are you there now? _

_ Yeah. He fell asleep. I’ll wake him and get him back to bed.  _

_ Okay. I’m on my way back to bed. See you soon.  _ Eren felt the link close and sighed. 

“Armin wake up.” Eren nudged his shoulder, but the only response he received was sleepy mumbles. “Hey, come on, you can’t sleep here like this. You’ll wake up sore, and not at all happy.” He nudged him again, and this time with more success. 

Armin swatted an arm at him. 

“I could go get Erwin to come wake you.” Armin opened an eye and glared at him. “Well, good morning sunshine. Come on let’s get you to bed.” 

Armin stood and stretched. “What time is it?” he yawned.

“Late. You’re lucky Berthold came to Levi and I, and not to anyone else. You’re also lucky that I knew exactly where to look. Levi’s gone back to bed, and I’d really like to join him, so if you don’t mind?” 

Armin jumped up from the table. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“It’s alright. Just don’t make a habit of it.” 

***

Erwin ran towards Levi, short staff in hand. He swung towards Levi’s left, but Levi ducked to the right, spun in circle sweeping Erwin’s feet from under him. Erwin hit the ground, and Levi brought his staff down to strike at his chest, but Erwin rolled to the side avoiding the blow. Levi backed off, allowing Erwin to stand, and they returned to their original positions. 

“Someone’s distracted.”

Erwin just grunted in reply before charging him again. This time, he struck at his head, but Levi sidestepped him, sticking his foot out at the last second causing Erwin to trip. This time, he stayed down. 

“Are you done falling on the ground now? Because this is starting to get boring.” 

Erwin rolled over onto his back and stared up at the sky. 

“How did you get Eren to like you?” 

Levi felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. “Kid already liked me.” 

“I mean after you had your commitment ceremony.” Erwin sat up. “You’re not exactly the easiest person to be around.” 

Levi shrugged. “Eren’s stubborn.” 

“But so are you. If I recall, it took you a year of him pestering you before you’d even speak to him for more than a few minutes.” 

“That was because he was an immature brat.”

“You still call him an immature brat.”

Levi shrugged. Some things never changed. “Look, if you want to get your little mushroom to like you, you should probably be spending some time with him doing whatever it is he does all day, not here with me falling on your face.” 

“I just want to give him time to adjust.”

He crossed his arms. “He’s been here for almost a month. What else is there to adjust to, or are you too afraid to spend time with him?” 

Erwin looked properly cowed. “Every time we’re together we either argue, or we sit in awkward silence, or I’m helping him go through books. We have nothing to talk about.” 

“Are you sure about that?” 

Erwin didn’t respond. 

“Well, have you ever tried to talk to him about something other than his quest for family and your bond?” 

Erwin looked away from him effectively giving him an answer. 

Levi sighed. “You know you’re going to have to try talking to him sometime.”

“I know! I just don’t know what to do.” He brought up his knees wrapping his arms around them.  

He looked so pathetic. Levi didn’t do pathetic. “Either suck it up, and talk to him, or don’t. You know what’s at stake.” 

“But  _ how _ do I talk to him?” 

Levi just stared at him blankly. 

“You know what I mean.”  

“I can’t do this.” Levi turned and walked away.

“Hey!” Erwin chased after him. “You’re supposed to help me.” 

“I did help you. I gave you some advice. Take it or leave it.” 

Erwin sighed. “Well, what did you do when you and Eren fought?” 

Levi thought back and blushed. Those thoughts weren’t exactly appropriate. “Maybe you should ask Eren about this kind of stuff. He’s better at explaining things.” 

“Eren,” he muttered. “Why didn’t I think of that? Do you know where he is?” 

He shook his head. “I can ask.”  _ Where are you?  _

_ I’m getting Armin for our joint fitting for our special bonding attire. Why?  _

_ Erwin wants to talk about feelings and stuff.  _

_ Tell him I’ll meet with him afterward.  _

“He said he’s busy now, but he’ll meet with you after.” 

“Thanks, Levi”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand and continued walking. 

***

“You know that there're other things you can do around here other than spending time in a dusty library?” Eren hovered over Armin’s table. 

“I don’t want to lose any time on this.”

His eyes were still glued to the page when he spoke. Eren rolled his eyes and pulled away the book Armin was currently reading.

“Hey!” 

He placed a bookmark between the pages and closed it. “You will have plenty of time to look at these books. This is your home now, and these books are not going anywhere.”

Armin just glared. “You wouldn’t understand. You know who your family is. I don’t. I just want to find something that connects me to them.” 

Eren sighed, pulling out a chair to sit. “You’re right; I don’t understand what it’s like to not know your family, and I’ve never been in your situation, but what I do know is that hiding away from all of your problems, even if you’re using a valid excuse, won’t get you anywhere.” 

He pouted. “I’m not hiding.” 

Eren grinned. “That’s the classic sign of someone in denial.”

“I’m not talking about this right now.”

Eren shrugged. “Fair enough, but we will talk about it at some point. Now let’s go. It’s time for your fitting.”

“Why do I have to have so many fittings?” He started picking up his supplies and organizing them into piles for when he would later return. 

“Because aside from the clothes you’ll wear for the coronation, the robe you wear for the bonding ceremony and celebration are the most important pieces of clothing you will ever wear.” 

Armin rolled his eyes. “They’re just clothes. Why Elves have special clothes for every function I’ll never know.” 

“You’re just jealous of our fabulous taste in fashion.” Eren struck a pose, and Armin laughed at him. “Are you ready to go?” 

“Yep.” Armin finished his organizing, and the both of them left the library. 

“Eren, why is there no librarian or archivist? I’ve been in there several times, but I’ve never seen anyone in charge. The cataloging system in place is ridiculous, and I can’t seem to find anything.”

“There’s Hanji.” Eren glanced askance. 

“Yeah, but I get the feeling that that’s not their official job, more of a hobby.” 

Eren remained silent. 

“Eren?” 

“It’s one of the jobs of the High Consort to make sure that the palace library is maintained.”

“Oh.” Armin looked down at his feet. 

“Usually, the High Consort trains the incoming High Consort and anyone that chooses to volunteer their time working in here, but since he died over the summer, no one’s really been here to manage things. He was in the process of redoing the system, so that’s probably why you can’t find anything.” They walked along in silence.

“What happened to the High Consort? No one ever speaks about him. I don’t even know his name.” 

Eren took his time before answering trying to figure out the best way to phrase things. “His name was Mike. He was killed in a fire trying to rescue a child. It happened at one of our remote settlements that he was making a routine visit to because of their farm land. No one knows for sure how the fire was started, but we think that a rogue group of wolf walkers set it to force the people off of the land. That’s why you’re not allowed to leave the palace grounds without an escort. It’s too risky with the way things are.” 

“I want to add training for my role as High Consort to my lessons. There’s so much that I don’t know, and I want to be as prepared as possible for when I need to start my duties.” 

“I’ll alert the King to see what can be done.” 

*** 

Eren stared blankly at Erwin after he explained his hapless situation. No wonder Levi pawned Erwin off on him. Erwin was as romantic as an ogre horde bathing in a swamp. He shook his head and inwardly groaned. This was going to take a while, and he was really looking forward to the foot massage Levi promised him. 

“Erwin, this is going to be really hard for you, but you’re going to need to stop thinking about yourself, and think about Armin.” 

“But that’s all I do!” 

“No, you’re thinking about how you appear to Armin which is a big difference.” He rested his hands on his baby bump and propped his feet up on the stool in front of his chair. 

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Erwin huffed. He looked like a petulant child, arms crossed cheeks slightly puffed. Even his normally well-groomed hair was in a serious need of brushing. 

“Put yourself in Armin’s shoes, and start looking at this place as a newcomer. The only interesting place he’s been to is the library. Other than that it’s been classrooms, meeting halls, and the like. He’s not done anything that would constitute as fun, and I know it’s because he’s trying to make up for his lack of knowledge so he can be the best High Consort ever, but there’s no way that can happen unless he’s out there among the people doing wild and crazy things he probably shouldn’t be doing. He needs to know that there’s more here than meets the eye.” 

“So I should take him out?” 

Erwin really was clueless. 

“Yes, Erwin, take him out to all of your favorite places, even the one’s no one knows about. Share with him what you love about this place, and he’ll come to love it just as much as you do. Not only will he learn more about his new home, but he’ll learn more about you too and by virtue, he’ll open up more about himself.” 

“But what do I say? He told me he hates surprises, so how do I get him to come along?” 

Eren wanted to pull his hair out, but he refrained because that would be painful, and he’d finally gotten his wild locks somewhat under control today.  

“You tell him that you want to show him around to some of your favorite spots. Talk about how he’s been missing out on the cool stuff. I don’t know, just don’t make it sound boring.” He gave Erwin a knowing look. “I know how you get. You’re supposed to make him excited, not fall asleep.” 

Erwin blushed, yet another thing that was very uncommon for him. “If he says yes, will you and Levi come with us? You know, keep us on track?” 

“Sure.” He’d convince Levi to come with them somehow. “You’d be hopeless without us.” 

Erwin sighed and relaxed into his chair. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without the both of you helping me.”

_ Not complete the bond in time,  _ but Eren chose not to say that. He didn’t need any more pressure added to him. 

“We’re your friends. We’re glad to help.” He smiled.

“But I seem to be taking up most of your time. You should be in classes and Levi—” 

He waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m in my final year, which is mostly spent practicing what I’ve learned, and I have Armin for that, even if I’m not teaching an actual class, and you know Levi would do anything for you.”

“Still there must be something that I can do to repay you?” 

“There is something.” Eren smiled thinking about how he was going to get that foot massage early after all. “But it can wait for a bit. I want to know if you have any ideas as to where you’re going to take him.” 

“I do have one idea.” 

“Do tell, you can pay me back while doing so.” He slipped off his shoes and wiggled his toes. Erwin frowned. 

“Don’t you have a mate for that?”

“Yep. But Levi’s not here right now, and I’ve heard a lot about your magical massage powers. Besides you were the one that offered to pay us back, and this is what I want.” Eren wiggled his toes again. “Well, get to it. We don’t have all night.”

Erwin took the place where Eren’s feet were resting, placing them on his lap. He grabbed a foot and rubbed. Eren sighed sinking into the chair. Best decision ever. 


	13. And wished to save them by stopping the Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations, an interrogation, and family dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ! So I'll be going on hiatus until December. Firstly, because I'm going into finals and all my attention is going to be on that because I graduate soon! Secondly, I'll be working on a submission to a literary magazine! Fingers crossed that it'll get chosen for publication. Finally, NaNoWriMo is coming up, so I'll be spending November writing up a storm finishing up my original novel. So I'm going to be quite the busy bee! Come bug me on [tumblr](http://www.http://mellodragonsuniverse.tumblr.com/) in the meantime. Ask me questions and the like. Anyway, bless Remmy and all that he does, and get ready for a wild ride!

Of all of the foolish things Marco has done  _ this _ had to be the worst. Planning the demise of their mother in the palace garden while parading around his crush was like a stab to Mikasa’s heart. None of this made sense. After their recent conversation on having to give up their true desires for the good of the people, she figured Marco would understand the dire position that they were in. Apparently, the needs of the heart were more important. Selfish bastard. 

“And then he just took a large bite out of this hunk of meat! He looked like a chipmunk!” Jean cried.

Marco giggled, grabbing his arm. “Your new friends sound like fun.” Marco beamed, cheeks rosy. 

_ Disgusting. _

“Yeah, they’re definitely not like any of my usual friends.” Jean smirked. 

Mikasa would never understand what Marco saw in him. 

“You know your brother will catch you spying on him right?” 

Mikasa jumped and turned to find it was only Annie behind her. She slumped her shoulders, and sighed. “How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?” Mikasa frowned.

“Plenty.” Annie just stared at her, a hint of a smile on her lips. 

“This is for his own good. He should know better than to be so careless.” Mikasa turned to see that they’ve moved out of hearing range, but have moved even closer together. She fumed. “Look at that! They’re practically kissing!”

“From my point of view, it looks like Marco is just hanging off his arm.” Annie crossed her arms. 

“It’s disgusting!”

“Stop being jealous. It doesn't become you.” 

Mikasa just glared. How could she act like knowing that Jean and Marco are parading around their whatever it was, but they couldn’t so much as glance at each other without fear of being discovered. 

“They’ve moved too far away. I’m moving closer.” She darted from bush to bush trying to remain unseen with Annie following close behind her. 

“You know this is silly right?” Annie crouched close enough to whisper into Mikasa’s ear.

Mikasa shivered. “It’s not silly when anyone could be doing this, including one of Mother’s spies. Now shush! I think I can hear them.” She peeked around the hedge.

“—know what you’re talking about.” 

“Oh come on! You have to have someone you’re interested in. What about the son of the Duke? The one you danced with at the ball? He’s easy on the eyes.” Jean nudged. “Or even his sister! They’re twins, right? Two for the price of one, what do you say?” He laughed.

Marco blushed.

She really didn’t understand why Marco liked him. 

“I do like someone.” Marco’s blush spread. 

“Really?! Who is it? Someone I know perhaps?” Jean wrapped his arm around Marco’s shoulder, but Marco pulled away turning his back to him. “Hey? What’s wrong?”

“I just don’t think he likes me the same way, and I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Oh, okay.” Jean wilted. “We could talk about something else if you want.”

Marco turned back to him. “So, what’s up with your love life? I saw how cozy you were with that boy?” 

“You mean your half-brother? Oh, I plan on getting even  _ cozier  _ once we get him back.” 

Marco’s body dropped for a split second before he recovered with an obviously forced smile. Mikasa’s heart broke for him.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. I just hope he feels the same way.” It was Jean’s turn to blush. 

“It’ll take a miracle for him to love a face like yours.” Marco darted off laughing. 

“Hey! I’ll have you know plenty of people love this face!” Jean took off after him. 

If only he knew.

“How could my brother fall for someone who clearly doesn’t care for him?” Mikasa sat heavily on a nearby bench. 

“The heart wants what the hearts wants.” Annie shrugged. 

“He must know it’s impossible?” 

“Sort of like us?” Annie offered.

“We’re different,” Mikasa grumbled.

“How so?”

“We just are! Plus, he’s such an asshole!”

Annie smiled, and took Mikasa’s hands in hers. “Your brother will figure it out eventually. He’s smart.”

“He doesn’t act like it.” Mikasa wasn’t pouting. 

Annie just rolled her eyes. “Like I said, you can’t ignore your heart even if it might be wrong. Things will change for the better. You just have to be patient.” 

Mikasa wasn’t so sure if Annie was talking about Jean and Marco anymore.

“Run away with me?” Mikasa gripped their hands tight.

“What? Where would we go?” 

“We could seek refuge with the elves or even just become nomads; never staying in one place, never having to answer to anyone.”

“Never seeing your brother again?” 

Mikasa deflated.

“Just give it time. When Marco becomes King he’ll—” Annie paused then backed away from her. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation here.” 

“What’s wrong?” Annie darted her eyes upward, and Mikasa turned around to find her parents watching them from the walkway above them.

“We should go. I’m sure you have things you need to see to.” 

Annie stood, curtsied, and left without saying another word. Mikasa looked up at her parents again, meeting her father’s eyes. She looked down at her feet, and walked away in the opposite direction. 

***

“Marco seemed awfully close to Jean. Too close for comfort wouldn’t you say so, Pet?” 

Nile inwardly cringed as he looked Darius in the eyes. “I wouldn’t say that. They’ve know each other since they were children. It’s only natural that they would be close.” 

Darius shook his head. “No, Marco looks at Jean as if he were a lover.”

Nile turned Darius’ head away from their children. “Husband, he’s young. It’s probably just a little crush that he’ll grow out of in time. Now, enough talk of the ch—”

“No, I will not change the subject! This could very well mean the end of our kingdom. What would happen if someone found out about him? Do you know the chaos that would bring?” 

Nile knew all too well. It’s what he’s been after this whole time. “I just believe that we need to think about this rationally. So far, nothing has come out of it. The only ones that would be privy to any information know that if they do anything to damage our  family, they will not live to tell the tale.” He pecked Darius’ lips. “Now come. Leave the children be.” He tugged on his arm, but Darius stood in place. “What has your attention now?” 

“Another potential problem with one of our children.” 

Nile looked down so see Mikasa and her handmaiden holding hands. This just gets better and better. Now he needed to cover for another one of their missteps. 

“It’s unnatural how close they are. She should have other friends. Spending too much time with the help isn’t good for appearances.” 

Nile would cry tears of joy if it wasn’t for the fact that his husband was an idiot. “Well she’s not the most personable of our children. She really doesn’t get along with the other ladies of the court, but what would you expect when she spends most of her time either alone or with her brother. She just needs someone that shares her interests.” 

“Hmm, she’s at a prime age to start looking for suitors, isn’t she?”

“Well, yes, but isn’t that a little drastic, husband?” 

“No. We need her betrothed to solidify allies if we plan on storming the forest.” 

“Isn’t there some other way? She should be free to choose her love, just as you were.” 

“Sacrifices must be made for the good of the kingdom.” 

“And getting your eldest back is good for the kingdom?”

Darius grabbed Niles wrist and squeezed. “You would dare question the word of the King?” 

“No husband,” Nile wheezed. “I just thought—”

“You thought wrong. That’s why you should do less thinking, and more tinkering with those dolls you’re so fond of.” Darius squeezed harder before pushing Nile away. 

Nile rubbed at the rapidly bruising flesh. “Husband, you’re getting a little too worked up. Have you taken your tonic today? It’s not good for you. You know what the healer said.”

Darius looked at him, and his face dropped, realizing what he’d just done. “Did I hurt you, Pet?” He rushed to Nile’s side, taking Nile’s hand gently into his own to inspect the injury. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. We must get you to the healer, and I must go take my tonic.” He gathered Nile up in his arms.

Nile squeaked, “You don’t need to carry me, Husband! I can walk just fine.”

“No, I couldn’t bear it if you gained another injury along the way. It’s not too far. Besides, I love it when you’re in my arms.” He leaned down and kissed Nile’s lips.

“Well if I get that kind of reaction, I’m going to have to let you carry me more often.” Nile smiled at him all the while thinking of how lovely it will be when it is him dealing the blow and Darius whimpering at his feet.

***

“What do you want this time? I told you everything I know!” Klaus rasped out. 

Nile calmly walked to his bed and dropped the bundle in his arms onto Klaus’s lap. 

“What’s this?”

“Maps of Shinghanshina Forest. I need you to tell me where those dratted Elves live. None of these are accurate or even close to being the same.”

Klaus looked at Nile and wheezed until he coughed. 

“Was that supposed to be a laugh?” 

Klaus just shook his head. “What do you expect me to do? It’s the protections the Elves have on them. No one will find their kingdom unless they already know where it is. Now leave me to my peace.”

“I will do no such thing. Now tell me how to find them.” 

“I don’t know!” 

“You see; I doubt that you do. It is common for map makers to sign their work, so that everyone knows who made the discoveries. Do you know whose signature is on all of these maps?” He picked one up and unfurled it, locating the name. “A. S. Arlert as in Adalbert Stanton Arlert. I’m sure you recognize that name don’t you?” 

Klaus trembled as Nile picked up the various maps and moved them aside so he could sit on the bed. 

“Please…”

And now the pleading. Nile really hated it when they did that. 

“I don’t know anything.” 

“But these are your father’s maps. I’m sure he must have told you something?” 

Klaus shook his head. 

“No?” He tilted his head to the side. “I believe you now, but my friend here,” Nile soothed as he motioned to the guard that stood by the door to come forward. “He’s going to need a little more convincing.”  

The guard stepped closer to Klaus pulling out a knife. Klaus kept pleading as the guard just smiled removing his blankets layer by layer. It really was a pity that they had to go through all of this. If only Klaus had just given him the information he wanted, he could have continued on with his recovery. He probably would have rewarded him for his cooperation. Some potions to dull the pain would probably have been most welcome. Oh well, it’s not his fault that people choose to go against him. If only they realized, he was on their side. 

“Aaaaahhhhh!” 

He winced at the scream. “Do be careful now. He has information that I need, and I can’t exactly get it if he’s dead, now can I?” 

The guard just grunted, and made another slice to his leg. Blood bloomed anew at each fresh mark. It would have been pretty if it wasn’t for the mess. 

“Please tell him to stop!” Tears and snot poured from Klaus’ orifices like waterfalls. He held up his hand, and the guard stopped. 

“Just tell the man what he wants to know, and he’ll stop. It’s as simple as that.” He folded his hands in his lap.

“Please!” 

Nile tsked, and the guard made another slice. If things continued on like this, he’d be of no more use. 

“Stop, I have a better idea.” He smiled. A much better idea.

***

Nothing was making sense anymore to Jean. They just heard rumors that Grandfather was getting worse, but when he was at the Castle earlier, Marco had told him that as far as he knew, the old man was fine, locked up as a prisoner, but fine. What could they be doing to him that would put him on his deathbed? 

“I think they might be torturing him for information.”

Both he and Sasha looked at Connie with disbelief. “It makes sense. He was fine when he was in here last, and now they’re saying he’s on his deathbed? The only thing that adds up is torture.” 

“But why? He’s just an old man that runs a book shop. What could he know?” Sasha clutched the mug in her hands.

“Maybe he knows more than you think. He did raise Armin for all those years with no one suspecting. How would he have been able to do it unless someone on the inside knew about it?”

“You think someone helped him kidnap Armin?” 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Why would they go to all the trouble of torturing the old man if he didn’t know something that could get someone important in trouble.” Jean had a very strong feeling about this.

“But then why tell people about it?” 

Connie added. “Recruit more people for the cause of finding Armin in Shinghanshina. It would make sense. I heard some soldiers talking about how there are not going to be enough supplies if any more people join the ranks. They’re already working with the bare minimum of everything.” “That fits with what I heard from some kitchen servants when I dropped off some supplies. The Queen is more on edge than normal. Everyone is just trying to lay low and do their jobs which has the kitchen staff terrified because we’re running low on meat orders, and I can’t go hunting because patrols have increased.”

He looked at Sasha and Connie, and he felt bad for them. Everything was getting worse, and it was their friends that were paying the price. 

“I also heard from Marco that the King is talking negotiations between other kingdoms for help to get Armin back, so whatever they have planned it’s going to take time. How much, I honestly don’t know.” 

Sasha stood abruptly. “We have to get Grandfather out of there. If he really is on the verge of dying, and they’re the cause, he won’t last very long. What happens if they get the information they want? What will they do with him then?” 

“Just hold on! There’s no way that’s even possible, Sash’.” Connie blocked the door. “Even if we knew exactly where he was being held, there’s no way we could get in there. For one, there are the hundreds of guards that are roaming the palace grounds. Two I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t even be able to get close.” 

“And why is that?” 

“Look at how we’re dressed. We’d stand out in that part of Trost.” 

Connie was right about that. They may not be completely poor, but the fabrics and styles they wore, were nothing like those found in Upper Trost. 

“But Jean can.” They both turned to look at him. “And he has access the palace! It’s perfect.” 

“No it’s not, I told the both of you that I’d get as much as I could out of Marco, but he knows barely anymore that what he’s told me already, and I’m not going to risk him. He may be the Crown Prince, but that doesn’t mean he’s above being punished. In fact, he’d probably be in even more trouble than if it was someone like you. Marco doesn’t deserve that. He’s probably the best person to be in line for the throne.” 

Sasha and Connie deflated. Everything was turning hopeless. 

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Sasha returned to her chair. 

“I’ll see if Marco can find out where he’s being held, other than that, all we really can do is wait.” He shrugged. 

“Waiting sucks.” Connie returned to his chair, banging his head against the table.

Jean couldn’t agree more.

***

Mikasa hated family dinner. Their father insisted that they had it at least twice a week, and today just happened to be the lucky day. She glowered at the door to the dining room hands twitching at her sides. She could hear the cheerful voices of her family, but she knew it was all an act. After what happened earlier that day, there was no way things were going to remain bright and cheery for long.

She stepped into the room to find that she was the last to arrive.

“Just in time, my little Mika. I was worried that I was going to have to send out a search party.” Father grinned. 

“Sorry, Father. I was reading and lost track of the time.” She sat in the chair across from her brother and waited for her father to motion for them to eat.

“It’s alright dear. As long as you’re here now, all is well.” Mother patted her hand. “Now that we’re all here, are you ready to call the servants, husband?” 

“Yes.” He nodded to the servant in the room. “Please bring the food.” 

The servant nodded and left the room returning moments later with several others ladled with plates of food. They set they set them down on the table and left the room. The lead servant sampled a portion of food. Upon his lack of death, her father motioned for them to eat. Mikasa portioned out a small amount of food for herself and nibbled at her food being far more interested in leaving than actually eating. 

“So.” 

Mikasa jumped, not expecting anyone to speak.

“How was everyone’s day? Anything interesting happen?” Father looked to each of them. 

“I spent most of it reading in the library,” Mikasa responded. 

“Jean was over, and we spent it talking,” Marco added. 

“I got a new figurine in and added it to my collection.” Mother was gushing with excitement. 

“That’s lovely to hear, Pet! Was it just one or were there more?” 

“Just the one. It’s a castle guard. I needed it to replace the last one I got. I accidently knocked it over, and it shattered to bits.” He smiled to himself.

Both Mikasa and Marco shuddered.

“Well it’s nice to know that something out of the ordinary happened.” Darius turned his eyes to his children. “I’m very disappointed in the both of you. Both of you need to spend time with people your age.”

“But I do!” Marco cried. 

“Jean isn’t enough. You’re supposed to be fostering ties to the other kingdoms not canoodling in the gardens with someone that is very much unavailable! If you really want to spend quality time with that boy, do it where no one else can see. Dalliances are to be expected, but if they can’t be kept a secret then I’m going to have to interfere.” 

Marco cowered and refused to meet his eyes. 

“And you, young lady have yet to make any friends other than that maid! What do you think the people say about you?”

“I don’t care what people think of me.” 

“That is not the answer I’d expect of a princess, young lady. You need to own up to your responsibilities on you own, or I will force you to,” he growled. 

“Yes, Father. What exactly are my responsibilities?”

“You insolent brat!” He stood. “You’re lucky that you were born into privilege because all a pretty girl like you would amount to is a common street whore!” 

“And that’s so different from being married off to the highest bidder?”

“Why you—”

“That’s enough! Both of you!” Mother stood and walked across the room to her husband. “Now sit.” He pushed Darius into the chair and sat in his lap forcing his husband to meet his eyes. “This is supposed to be a nice family dinner. No talk of what the children should and shouldn’t be doing. No talk of politics. Just family, spending time together because more often than naught, you’re busy running the kingdom. Leave the children be and let them spend their free time how they please. Now eat.” Mother picked up a fork, speared a piece of meat, and fed it to Father.  

He chewed it without complaint. He didn’t even grumble that their mother interrupted him. 

Mikasa looked at her brother, and he seemed just as confused as she was. 

“You’re right, Pet. That was very harsh of me. Please children, do what you will as long as you devote some time to other pursuits.” 

“Yes, Father,” Mikasa and Marco answered. 

Something was very wrong with this situation, and Mikasa honestly didn’t know if she wanted to find out what it was. She looked at her mother again and shuddered. 


	14. All the while the Prince and the boy grew closer yet the boy was not in love with the Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A picnic, a snowball fight, a discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see! Sorry, my break took longer than I thought. Good news is I officially have my Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing, and I'm currently interning as an editor for an awesome nonprofit organization ([The Borgen Project](http://borgenproject.org/)) that fights global poverty. I'm also knee deep in a [fundrasing campaign](http://borgenproject.org/stephanie-adams/) for them. If you could check them out I'd be a happy duck! Bad news is, I'm still job hunting. Hopefully, I'll find something before the end of my internship. 
> 
> We're on the homestretch for this fic! Only five more chapters to go after this! Happy reading!

When Erwin said that he wanted to show Armin his favorite place to visit in all of Shinghanshina, Armin didn’t expect a long horse ride in the freezing cold. Early December snow was beginning to fall, and Armin hadn’t quite dressed as warmly for it. He wore his standard leggings, a thick tunic with a long thick coat, but he underestimated how cold the forest would be and found himself shivering still. Erwin kept giving him knowing looks from his own horse, but he refused to admit to anything. 

“Not much longer now. It’s just up ahead.” Erwin pointed to a thick clump of bushes.

“Finally!”

Armin turned to see a very bundled up Eren burying his face into Levi’s neck. “I feel like I’m roasting. I can’t wait to get some of these layers off.”

“Oi! Your face feels like a block of ice,” Levi grunted leaning away from him. “Why are we here anyway?” 

“Because Erwin thought it would be a good idea to get out for the day. It’s not his fault that it decided to snow last night. Besides, you owe me.” Eren glared. 

Levi rolled his eyes and rode ahead to catch up with Erwin.  

“Where exactly are we going?” 

“See for yourself,” Erwin said as they came into view of a small lakeside cabin. It was a single story with a large porch and windows facing the open expanse of land before them. Everything was covered in snow and looked as if it hadn’t been touched in an age. The lake was frozen over and stretched beyond where the eye could see.  

Mesmerized by the sight in front of him, Armin gasped. “It’s beautiful. Who lives here?” 

Erwin got off of his horse and led him to a building off the side of the cabin. Levi and Eren followed suit. 

Erwin then helped Armin off of his horse and led her to the side building, which Armin learned was a stable.

“It belonged to my Ada. We used to come here all the time, just to get away for a little while.” He settled Armin’s horse and unpacked the saddle bags containing their lunch. “Let’s get inside and get warmed up.” 

“I really want to explore around here. It looks so peaceful! Can we come back in the summer?” Armin bounced as they headed inside. 

Erwin laughed, “We can come whenever you want.  The lake is wonderful in the summer. We’ll have to go swimming.” 

“I never learned.” Armin’s blush wasn’t just due to the cold. 

“Then I’ll have to teach you.” 

They stepped into a simple room. In the center was a small table and chairs where Erwin and Levi deposited the items. Beyond the table was a fireplace with a couple of comfortable looking chairs and a sofa positioned in front of it. Levi immediately began getting a fire going in the fireplace. To the left of the table was a small kitchen reminiscent of the one Armin grew up with back in Trost. To the right was a short hallway with a few rooms.

“Can we go exploring yet?” Armin was still bouncing.

“We should eat and get warm first, don’t you think?” Eren said removing his copious number of layers and settling into one if the chairs in front of the fire.

“Weren’t you complaining about being too hot?” Levi grumbled.

Eren ignored him. “I’m hungry. Can we eat yet?” 

“I just have to unpack everything,” Erwin said opening packages of food. 

“Oh, can we eat outside? We can sit on the porch!” Armin was acting like an excitable puppy, but he didn’t care.

Erwin laughed. “Isn’t it a bit cold?”

“We can wear blankets. I’m sure there’s some here. You must have spent some nights here right?” 

“Yes, and there are some, but aren’t you cold?” Erwin looked at him bemused smile on his face.

Armin put on his best pouting face. “Please?” 

Erwin relented. “Okay, just let me finish with this, grab some blankets, and we’ll go.” 

“I can grab them. Where are they?” 

“There should be some in the first room on the right, in a trunk at the end of the bed.” 

Armin rushed off to find the blankets. He entered the room and headed straight to the trunk. He was curious about what else the room contained, but he’d save that for later.  Right now, all he wanted was his winter picnic on the porch. 

He opened the trunk and pulled out the blankets. When he removed them he noticed a collection of books. He reached to pick one up, but Erwin called him saying that he was ready. He readjusted the blankets in his arms and left the room. He’d take a look at them when they came back inside. 

***

Erwin wasn’t surprised when both Eren and Levi declined their invitation to eat with them outside. Even with the added warmth of the blankets, it was still nippy, as evidenced by Armin’s rosy cheeks and nose. 

“You know if you’re cold, we can go back inside.” He took a bite of his bread roll. 

Armin shook his head vigorously. “I’m f-f-f-fine.” His teeth were starting to chatter.

Erwin wasn’t pleased. He didn’t want what was supposed to be a fun day ruined because Armin got a cold. He stood, walked over to where Armin was sitting and settled in behind him.

“W-what are y-you d-d-doing?” Armin stiffened his arms.

“You’re obviously cold, but really determined to stay out here. I’m not going to let you freeze, so you’re going to sit in my lap with your blanket wrapped around your front, and I’m going to use my blanket to wrap around the both of us. Sharing body heat helps combat the cold.”

“Oh.” 

“You don’t mind do you?” Erwin couldn’t see Armin’s face, but his body spoke volumes when he had yet to relax. Armin didn’t respond for a while, so he was prepared to back away from him, but then Armin shifted further back into the vee of his legs resting his back against Erwin’s chest. 

“No.”

Erwin readjusted his blanket to make sure it covered the smaller male in front of him. 

“Thanks,” Armin muttered. “You’re like a hot stove.”

“You’re welcome.” 

They continued to eat in silence staring out at the landscape in front of them. Winter had set in fully, painting the world around them white. For the moment, it had stopped snowing, but Erwin knew that several feet would fall before the season was over. 

He was glad for the weather. It gave him an excuse to be so close to Armin, who usually kept his distance.  He liked the way Armin fit against him. He was small for his age, almost delicate looking and easily overpowered, but there was solidness about him; a quiet strength that wasn’t as easily seen, but he felt it all the same. It intrigued him how much power Armin exuded; it was at odds with his appearance and personality. He was so skittish and small, but one wrong move and you’d feel his wrath. It made his pulse race.

Armin shifted forward in his lap causing him to look down. 

“Erwin look!” Armin pointed at something in the distance and he followed the direction of his arm to find a doe at the end of it. 

“Shh. Watch this.” Erwin whispered and stood slowly, leaving his blanket to surround Armin.

He picked up some sort of vegetable and knelt at the edge of the porch. He clicked his tongue a few times. The doe just watched him. He held out his closed fist, continuing to click his tongue. The doe started edging closer to him. He stopped clicking his tongue, and the doe paused a few feet from the porch.  He opened his hand slowly, and the doe inched forward. He waited patiently and was rewarded for his efforts when the doe finally came over and ate the food out of his hands. With his other hand, he pet the doe’s fur. She stood patiently accepting his touch.

“Wow.”

He looked back over his shoulder to find Armin mesmerized. 

“Do you want to touch her? She’ll let you; just don’t make any sudden movements or you’ll scare her.” 

Armin nodded his head slowly and crawled over to them. When he got to the edge of the porch, he reached out a hand and brushed the doe’s nose with his fingertips.

“Cold,” he muttered.

The doe twitched her nose, and Armin reached out again brushing his hand up against the side of her head. She nuzzled his palm, and Armin beamed. 

A branch cracked in the distance, spooking the doe, and she took off back into the surrounding forest. Armin pouted at her departure. 

Erwin’s heart skipped a beat. 

“I wish she could have stayed a little longer. I’ve never seen one so close before.” He turned his face to look at Erwin. “How were you able to do that?” 

He shrugged. “Animals just seem to like me.” 

“Sure they do. Is it some magical Elf power?” Armin poked him in his side. 

“No, honestly animals just like me. Ask Levi or Eren if you want.” Erwin paused, grimacing. “On second thought, don’t ask Levi or Eren.”

Armin smirked. “Why is that? Do they have any embarrassing stories to tell?” 

Erwin ignored him. “So what magical things can you do? I’m sure you have plenty of interesting stories of your own?”

Armin gave him the side eye. “I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work. I’ll ask them when we go back inside.” 

“Please don’t.” Erwin looked away.

Armin frowned. “Why?” 

“Once they start they won’t stop, and it’s just better that you don’t get them started. I guess I can tell you some stories myself if you want?”

“It’s okay if it makes you that uncomfortable. We can talk about something else.”

“No, it’s fine. In all honesty, talking about it just reminds me of my Ada. He was the same way, and whenever we’d spend time out here, we’d end up surrounded by animals if we spent the day outside.” Erwin smiled grimly staring out at the trees. 

“That sounds like it was nice.” Armin scooted closer to him. 

“It was.” 

They both fell silent lost in their own thoughts. 

“I don’t really have any magic powers unless you consider organizing a bookshop magic powers.” 

Erwin looked down at him. “Well, there’s bound to be something magical about you.” 

Armin shook his head. “Nope, I’m really only good with books. I wasn’t allowed to do much else. Grandfather freaked out over everything because the world was too dangerous, but I guess I know why.” He shrugged. “So I pretty much kept to the area around our shop, and only did the things he approved of, so I honestly don’t know if there’s anything magical about me or what things I share with my family other than my resemblance. I just wish I knew more.” 

Armin looked way too sad for Erwin’s tastes, and a sad Armin was not a good Armin in his book, so he did the one thing he knew that would wipe that sad look off of his face: he picked up a handful of snow, and threw it at him.

“Hey!” Armin shook his head and wiped snow off his face. “What was that for?” 

“You looked sad, and I don’t like it when you’re sad, so I decided to change it.” Erwin grinned. “It worked didn’t it?” 

Armin glared throwing off his blankets and digging his own hands in the snow. Erwin stood and backed away off the porch. 

“You know you don’t have to do that.” 

“Yes, I do.” Armin solemnly replied. “It’s only fair.” Then he launched his snowball at Erwin, and it hit him in the chest with a splat.

“You know this means war, right?” Erwin squared his shoulders preparing for battle.

“I’ve never lost a snowball fight in my life,” Armin smirked. 

“That was before you met me.” Erwin grinned.

“Do your worst. I won’t be surrendering today.”

Erwin stared.

Armin stared.

The grove fell silent.

No one moved.

Then in a burst of motion, two bodies dove for the freshly fallen snow on the ground to form their weapons. Armin was the first to launch a snowball, but he missed as Erwin ducked behind a tree. 

“You’ll have to do better than that!” He called from his hidden position. When he received no answer, he glanced around the side of the tree to find the area in front of the porch empty. His face scrunched up in confusion, and he stepped out from behind the tree. He took cautious steps as he searched the area for his wayward mate.

Splat.

His back was covered in snow. 

He turned and found Armin standing next to his tree trying to look innocent. Erwin grinned. This battle was going to be good. He ran for Armin, who turned and squealed running further into the forest to avoid him. 

***

Eren laughed as he stared at the duo playing in the snow. He hadn’t seen either of them this happy in the entire time Armin lived with them.  He was glad that they were loosening up around each other. They desperately needed it. 

“Amusing yourself over there?” 

He turned to look at Levi who was busy knitting a scarf. 

“Yep. They’re finally doing something fun with each other. It makes me glad.” Eren walked back over to his chair near the fire.

“Do you think they’ll complete the courtship in time?” 

Eren shrugged. “They don’t really have a choice, but I have faith that they will.”

***

True to his word, Armin didn’t lose the snowball fight. It lasted for at least an hour, and only ended after Armin tripped Erwin, and he fell into a snowbank. Both were shivering and decided that it would be best if they went inside to get warm. 

They gathered their things on the porch and headed inside where Eren made tea to warm their bones. The four of them sat by the fire talking about random things that popped into their heads. Levi and Armin discussed the finer points of knitting, and Erwin and Eren talked about baby stuff. It reminded Erwin of the trunk of things his Ada kept there. He swore that’s where he left his favorite childhood blanket. 

He excused himself to go look for it, and when he returned, he was carrying a large trunk with him. He set it down in front of the couch, and it caught Armin’s eyes. It was the trunk that had all of those books in them. 

Erwin opened the lid and started digging through it pulling out things that weren’t relevant to his search. Armin set aside his knitting needles and picked up one of the discarded books. 

It was bound in supple leather and looked very well used and cared for. He opened the cover and found yellowing pages and beautiful Elvish script. At the top of the page was a date. He flipped through it only finding more dates and more words he couldn’t read. 

“Erwin? Are these journals?” 

Erwin turned to look at the book he held in his hand. “Let me see.” He flipped through the pages, reading some of the script. “It looks like it, but this isn’t Ada’s handwriting. I don’t know whose it is.” 

“Let me have a look.” Eren reached out, and Erwin handed him the book. He skimmed through some pages, then closed it to look at the leather binding. He opened the book again and stared at the front page. “It looks like a page is stuck.”

Armin reached for the book. “I’ll see if I can loosen it.” 

He picked up a small knife that was set aside after they had eaten their meal and slipped it between the stuck together pages. Slowly, so as not to rip them, he worked the knife around the edges. Everyone watched patiently as he worked, anticipation filling the air. Finally, he worked the pages free and handed it over to Eren. 

“Property of Frieda Reiss. Who’s that?” 

Armin’s face went slack. “I think that’s my mother.” He muttered haltingly. “Her name was Frieda. That’s all I know, but why would these be here?”

“She was close friends with my Ada. I remember him telling me before he died that they used to spend a lot of time out here when they were children before she and her family moved away. Why didn’t I think about this before?”

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you.” Armin patted him on the shoulder. “At least we have them now.”

“There’s so many of them.” Eren picked up a few others. “Do you think they were all hers?” 

“Only one way to find out.” Levi set aside his knitting. “Hand me some, and we can go through them.” 

“Do you think there’s more?” Armin passed a few books along.

“I know that there are other trunks in the other rooms. I can bring them out, and we can look through them all.” Erwin stood. 

“I’ll help you.” Armin followed after him. 

“Who would have thought that getting Armin away from the library would turn out to be this great of an idea?” Eren flipped through the front covers separating out the books. “Do you think we’ll be able to go through all of these before we leave?” 

“No, but we can always bring the relevant ones back, and work on translating them for him.” Levi picked up all of the books from the trunk and set them aside before pushing the trunk out of the way to make more room. 

Erwin and Armin returned with a trunk between them and set it down near the table. 

“There’s just one more trunk. Levi, could you start going through this one?” 

Levi nodded walking over to open it. “This one is full of books.” 

“Ooo! Bring some more over.” Eren made grabby hands, and Levi complied with his wishes. “I’ve already got a system going. First, I’m separating out actual books and journals. Then once that’s done, I look through them to see who wrote what, and separate them that way. After that, I’ll arrange them by date.” Eren beamed. 

Levi gave him a smooch. 

Eren beamed more. 

“Stop making kissy faces. We have work to do.” Erwin ruined their moment. 

Eren stuck out his tongue. 

Erwin stuck out his tongue.

Eren blew a raspberry.

Erwin blew a raspberry. 

Levi gave them both the side eye. 

Armin rolled his eyes. 

“Children,” they both muttered. 

They looked at each other and shook their heads returning back to work. They had a lot of books to go through before they left the next day. 

***

“There’s so many books!” Eren groaned. “I’m tired of reading.” 

“Then take a break.” Erwin stretched. “We’ve been at it for hours now.” 

“Is anyone hungry?” Levi asked. 

“I could use something to eat. What all do we have left?” Erwin asked.

Levi walked over to the kitchen where they put away their supplies and looked through their food. “Some apples, carrots, beets, radishes, cheese, bread, jam, a few hand pies, and some chicken for Armin.”

“We could have sandwiches.” Armin offered. 

“Sounds good enough to me,” Eren added.

“I’ll help.” Erwin stood up from the table and helped Levi prepare their next meal. 

Armin continued putting the journals in order of the date.

“You know you can take a break too.” 

Armin looked up at Eren. “The more we finish here, the faster we can get to actually reading them. This is the closest I’ll ever be to my mother’s family.”

“Okay.” Eren shrugged and picked up the book he set down moments earlier.

Armin stared at him puzzled. “I thought you were taking a break?” 

“I figured we could work until food is ready to eat.” 

Armin smiled at him. “Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

The continued to work in silence, and not long after, their respective mates forced them to stop working so that they could eat. Armin practically wolfed down his food, so he could back to what he was doing. Erwin wanted to stop him so that he didn’t choke, but he knew it would be futile. Armin was on a mission and nothing would stop him from reaching his goal. 

Soon, the rest of them went back to work, organizing the journals in order. They discovered that some of the journals belonged to Erwin’s Ada, and he wanted to go through those as much as Armin wanted to go through his mother’s. They were the keys to an unknown past, and neither of them wanted to let them be for long.  

Erwin picked up another journal and skimmed through the pages looking for a date or some other identifying marker. Not finding one in the initial pages, he flipped to the very back cover where a key was taped. He frowned noting that it looked like a door key. He looked at the page opposite of the key to see if there was anything there explaining what the key went to. Nothing of note was there, so he turned back several pages and started reading. 

_ This will be my last visit for some time, now that I am to move to the Palace. Historia is now old enough to make it on her own, but I worry for my sister as she continues to live in Trost. I’m glad that she has found Ymir and will have someone to love her as much as I, but with the state of the laws, I fear that they will be caught and imprisoned.  _

_ I pray that I will be able to affect a change in the way the kingdom is run. Now that I am to be queen, I will have more say in things and hopefully, I will not only foster ties between my people and the kingdom of Sina, but I will improve the lives of my future people and equality will be had for all.  _

_ Darius has told me that he will do everything is his power to make me happy. This above everything else is my wish.  _

That was it. Nothing more was written, but from what was said, this book could hold the key. 

“Armin, I think I found something.” 

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to him.

“What is it?”

“I think your mother had another sister. I’m not sure where she could be now, but at least this is something. There’s also a key, but I’m not sure what it’s for. Listen.” Erwin read the passage aloud noting the frown on Armin’s face.

“Trost,” Armin mumbled.

“What about Trost?” 

Armin looked up at Erwin. “Your Adar told me that my mom would sometimes travel to Trost after her father died, but the only other person that knew why was your Ada. What if it was because she was checking up on Historia?”

“That’s sounds nice and dandy, but why would she have a sister in Trost? Wouldn’t her whole family have been here?” Levi frowned. 

“Her father was a Bond Breaker. He could have gotten someone pregnant, and told her about it before he died, and from what I’ve heard, she wasn’t the type to just abandon someone like that even if they were the reason her whole family fell apart.” Armin flipped to the back cover stroking the key. “This key could be to her home, but we don’t even know where to find her or even if she’s still alive.” Armin sagged. 

Erwin placed a hand on Armin’s shoulder. “But these books may tell us where she last was, and that may be all we need to continue our search. Have hope.” He smiled at him. 

“Are we done with this love fest? Because we still have a ton of books to go through before we leave tomorrow,” Levi whined. 

Erwin rolled his eyes.

Armin blushed.

Eren hit Levi with a book. “You’re such a mood killer you know? Sometimes I wonder what I see in you.”

“I could say the same.” Levi stared at Eren.

Eren stared back.

“Are you going to cry?” Levi frowned.

“No.” Eren sniffled.

Levi stood up from his chair and crossed to where Eren was sitting on the couch, pushing some books aside so he could sit. He opened his arms, and Eren immediately clung to him.

“I hate these stupid hormones.” 

“Me too,” Levi grumbled. 

Erwin cleared his throat. “I guess we should get back to work.” 

“Yeah, work.” Armin agreed picking up the book and turning to the beginning. He was so close now to finding his family. He smiled. One step closer to finding out who he truly was.


	15. When the boy discovered his Grandfather was ill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An argument, a festival, a sacrifice

“You’re a fool Pixis.” Shadis glowered pacing back and forth across the room. 

Pixis as level-headed as ever just smiled. “Takes one to know one.” 

“Are you mocking me?” Shadis bellowed. 

The sound of swords being drawn caused Petra to look up from the salves she was mixing. Shadis loomed over his brother chest puffed, breath heaving, guards moved into to protect the King, but Pixis waved them away continuing to smile.

“I don’t know. Am I?” 

Shadis turned himself away flinging his arm out to swipe at Petra’s supply cart knocking several jars to the ground. “Grrrahh!” 

Petra jumped up from her place at the King’s side and moved to the floor to clean up the mess.

Shadis turned back to the bed. “Take this seriously! Our entire race is at stake, and all you want to do is make jokes? This is grounds alone to have you removed from the throne!” 

Petra did her best to ignore the argument for the sake of tending to the King, but this was too much. “The only way for the King to be removed from his post is if he’s deemed medically unfit, and last I checked, having a sense of humor doesn’t fit the bill. He’s still capable of performing his duties, and if Healer Grisha doesn’t say otherwise, he will continue to perform those duties.” Petra looked up at her mentor, and he nodded in assent. 

Shadis glared.

Pixis laughed. “Well said, Petra. Now then, brother, if you don’t have anything else to tell me, I would like you to leave, so that the healers can finish their jobs so that I can rest.” 

Shadis sneered, “I have only this to say: that prophecy of Mike’s is coming true whether you like it or not. Your son is doomed to die and with it the kingdom. Erwin bonding with that boy only ensures it. The best course of action is to pass the kingdom over to me.” 

Petra watched as Shadis stared Pixis down. Veins in his forehead bulged; the color in his cheeks turned a vibrant red. If looks could kill, their kingdom would be doomed. 

“You are no more fit to run a kingdom than a babe is fit to fight on the front lines. Just wanting the mantle of king isn’t enough. You don’t have the mind for it. If you don’t have the patience or the courage to see a prophecy through to its completion regardless of the outcome, what makes you think you’d have the patience or courage to run the kingdom?” Though calm, Pixis’ voice could send a man to his grave. 

“Oh, like how your husband willingly went to his death? He prophesied that he would die swallowed in flames, and yet he chose to go to that cabbage farm after he learned that wolf walkers set the fire to the crop, to ‘help’, but where did that get him? Trapped in a burning farmhouse after rescuing a child leaving the kingdom to ruin! Is that what you want for your son?” 

“Get out,” Pixis rasped. 

Shadis just sneered.

“I said get out!” Pixis attempted to stand, but collapsed the moment he put weight on his legs.

“Your Majesty!” Grisha rushed to his side helping him back into bed and motioned to the guards. “Get him out of here.” 

They ushered Shadis out of the room as fast as they could, and Petra followed them closing the door once everyone was out. She turned to Shadis and unleashed her fury. “How dare you be so irresponsible? Are you trying to kill him faster? Because that’s exactly what it looks like.”

“All I want is what’s best for the kingdom.” Shadis backed her into the door. 

But Petra refused to be cowed. “What’s best for the kingdom is that their King doesn’t die before the heir’s bond is complete. Besides that, he still needs to officiate the beginning of the Spring Festival, and he may not be strong enough in two days’ time thanks to you. The people have already lost confidence in his rule. We don’t need to make it worse!” Petra finished with her hands on her hips, scowl on her face. 

“How dare you scold me like a child? I am a prince of this kingdom, and you are nothing but a glorified servant!” 

“I don’t care who you are. If you’re going to act like an elfling, I’m going to treat you like one.” 

“You’re lucky that my brother is so fond of you because if it were me, you’d be out of the job.” 

“Well lucky for me then.” 

Shadis growled low in his throat and stomped away. Petra heaved a sigh of relief. Now if only he’d stay away at least until the festival was over. 

***

Cheers erupted around the pavilion as Pixis announced the opening of the festival. Armin studied Pixis in concern. To the untrained eye, the King seemed to be holding up well. He was poised, graceful, and spoke with authority, but Armin saw different. Pixis’ hands had a slight tremor as he gripped the podium, and the way he was standing made it seem like the only reason he was upright was because the podium was supporting his weight. 

Armin looked up at Erwin with a frown. “Should your father be doing this?” 

“Probably not, but he’s too stubborn to let me do it. ‘Opening festivals is the job of the King and High Consort. Of which, you are neither,’” Erwin grumbled, mimicking his father’s tone. 

Armin snorted. “You would think he’d have more faith in you.” 

“He does,” Erwin sighed. “He just doesn’t want the people to lose faith in him.”  He looked up to his Adar with a frown, but when he turned back to Armin, a smile lit up his face. “So, what would you like to do first?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really been to a festival like this. Whenever there was one in town, Gra– the man that raised me wouldn’t allow me to go. What is there to do?” 

“Plenty. There are merchants selling various foods and nick knacks, performers, musicians, tournaments. They even have a ceremony later tonight to commemorate the first birth. Every year around this time one of the livestock goes into labor, and we have a gathering to meet the new baby. A foal was born early this morning which is rare. Usually, we have to wait until later in the week.”

“Wow,” Armin breathed, face glowing. “Can we go see?” 

“Of course,” Erwin grinned. “Until then, what would you like to do?” 

Armin paused in thought. “Can we go see the merchants? I’d like to see if they have any books for sale.” 

“Anything you wish.” Erwin held out his arm, and Armin grabbed hold. 

Erwin lead him to where the stalls were set up. Rows and rows of merchants lined the paths between the trees. It boggled Armin’s mind to see so many stalls seemly integrated into the nature around them. So many bright colors and vines interweaved with the wood that it looked as if they grew into that form from the trees. 

“How do they move all the stalls? It looks like they took root right where they stand.” 

“That’s because they do.” Erwin smiled. “All of the stalls are grown and formed with the help of our nature mages and gardeners to integrate them into the festival pavilion. Then when it’s time for a new festival, those that wish to sell apply for a stall and are assigned to them. The merchants are responsible for decorating them how they see fit.” 

“Then what are they used for the rest of the year? It would seem like a waste for them to remain empty most of the year.” 

“They don’t. Every other week there’s a market that takes place. It’s like a festival, but on a much smaller scale.” 

Armin frowned and smacked Erwin’s arm. 

“Hey!” 

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? We could have gone.”

Erwin rubbed the sore spot. “Sorry. It honestly slipped my mind because you spend most of your free time looking for information about you mother. I didn’t want to take time away from that.” 

Armin frowned then smiled. “Then we’ll just have to make up for it.” 

“Prince Erwin!” 

They turned to see a servant running towards them.

“Berthold, what’s wrong? Is it Adar?” 

“No,” he gasped catching his breath. “It’s the thing you asked me about earlier. It needs your attention.”

“Right, the thing.” Erwin looked down at Armin. “Would you mind terribly if I left you alone for a bit? I promise it won’t take long.” 

Armin feigned a sigh. “Do what you must, but you have to make it up to me.”

“Anything you wish.” Erwin grasped Armin’s hand, brushing his lips against Armin’s knuckles. “I’ll be back soon.” 

Armin blushed. “O–okay. I’ll be looking at the books.” 

Erwin smiled at him before turning and following Berthold. Armin brought his hands up to his cheeks trying the scrub away the warmth. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way towards him, but he did. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was that he felt, but it caused his insides to warm and flutter whenever Erwin looked at him that way.  

Ugh, why was this happening to him? He sighed. He took a deep breath and wandered to the nearest stall selling books. He wasn’t there for long when he ran into unwanted company.

“Ah, there’s Erwin’s young intended.” 

Armin turned to see Shadis standing behind him. “Hello, Prince Shadis.” 

“Please, Uncle is just fine; we’ll be family soon after all. At least I hope so since neither one of you has progressed much in the gifting process, but I imagine that will be rectified soon.” 

Armin brushed his fingers across his marks. They hadn’t progressed much, but what would you expect of two people being forced together under their circumstances?

“I’ve noticed you both spending a lot more time together. It’s a wonderful thing when two different kingdoms can align. It will be sad though that you’ll be away from your friends and family. I do hope you were able to say goodbye to them. There’s no telling when you’ll see them again. It may even be possible that they could die before you do, seeing as how yours and Erwin’s life forces will be tied together.”

Armin wasn’t able to say goodbye before he was taken, and with the current way Sina was, he probably never would. He missed his friends dearly. He frowned and wrapped his arms around his waist. 

“And I see that Erwin’s left you alone to wander by yourself.” Shadis shook his head. “That doesn’t seem very safe.” He stepped closer to Armin, too close. “Anyone could come and harm you if they wished.” 

“It’s a good thing that he’s not alone then.” 

Armin turned to see both Levi and Eren walking up to them. 

“Well then, it’s a good thing your  _ friends _ are here with you.” Shadis smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I should go find my wife and make sure she doesn’t spend too much. Gentlemen.” He tipped his head in farewell and walked away. 

Eren rushed to Armin’s side. “Are you okay? What did he say to you?” 

“I’m fine.” Armin was quick to reassure them. “He didn’t do anything. He was just really… creepy.” 

Levi scoffed. “When is he not creepy?”

“Anyway,” Eren drawled out. “What are you doing by yourself? Where’s Erwin?” 

“Berthold grabbed him so that he could go and check something. It seemed like it was important, so I let him go.” 

Levi and Eren glanced at each other then back at Armin.

“What?” 

“Nothing.” Eren grinned. “So, what have you seen so far?” 

Armin rolled his eyes. “Fine, keep your secrets.”

Eren just laughed. 

Levi rolled his eyes. 

“Common, let’s get something to eat, then Armin can tell us what he’s been up to.” Eren grabbed Armin’s arm dragging him from the stall to the nearest food vendor. 

***

Everything was in place. Erwin triple checked to make sure. He wanted everything to be perfect, and now all that was left was to get Armin. Levi said he’d make sure to take Armin to the rendezvous point, so all he had to do was wait for them to show up. Then he could sweep Armin off his feet. 

When he finally made it to the fountain in the palace courtyard he was glad to see that they were already there.

“Erwin!” Armin waved at him. “Where have you been? You just missed the archery competition.” 

“I had a good reason to. Come with me.” Erwin held out his hand. 

Armin took it. “And where are we going? Does this have something to do with what those two aren’t telling me?” 

“You’ll just have to wait and see. Thanks, you two for keeping an eye on him.” 

“Yeah, yeah just don’t expect us to babysit all the time,” Levi grouched.

Eren smacked Levi in the chest. 

“Ow.” Levi glared at Eren.

Eren glared right back. 

“Let’s leave the happy couple to their argument,” Erwin whispered. 

“Good idea.” Armin agreed.

They backed away slowly until they were out of earshot, then turned tail and ran. As soon as they were far enough away, they stopped running and collapsed against a tree panting and laughing.   

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Armin glanced back at the way they came.

“Eren has nothing to worry about,” Erwin reassured.

“I meant Levi. Eren looked about ready to tear him a new one.” 

“I definitely wouldn’t want to be Levi right now.” Erwin laughed.

“So, what is this surprise you have for me?” Armin looked up at Erwin eyes brimming with curiosity.

Erwin stood to his full height and held out his hand. “It’s just through here if you’ll follow me.” 

They walked along the path until they came to a grove of vines. Erwin pushed them aside making sure to keep them from hitting Armin in the face. He stopped right before they arrived at a clearing. 

“What’s wrong?” Armin looked at him concerned. 

Erwin took a deep breath. “Nothing.” He smiled. “Close your eyes?”

“Okay. I trust you.” Armin wrapped his arms around one of Erwin’s and closed his eyes. 

Armin trusted him? His heart thudded, and his cheeks warmed. He never expected that to happen, but he was happy that it did.

“Erwin?”

Armin startled him out of his reverie. “Sorry. Don’t open your eyes until I say so.”

“Okay.” 

Erwin pushed aside the final row of vines and walked them into the clearing. He positioned Armin in the center then stepped away. “You can open them now.” 

Armin’s eyes fluttered open, and his jaw dropped. Before him was an outcropping overlooking the pavilion where the night time festivities were to take place. Unlit lanterns circled the grove for night time viewings. Flowers bloomed among the leaves in the trees. It was like a small paradise. But the true surprise was the picnic basket and blanket set down in the center.

“I hope you like it. My Ada and I used to come up here to watch the performances. He told me when I was an elfling that it was the best spot to watch all the performers.” Erwin smiled at the memories of all the times they spent up there.  “He was right, of course. He was right about a lot of things.” 

Armin knelt on the blanket and inspected the contents of the basket. He found meats, cheese, tarts, fruit, and wine. He took everything out placing it delicately on the blanket. He pulled out glasses and plates setting them aside. When he was done, he turned to find Erwin shifting side to side, and smiled.

“Well, aren’t you going to come and sit?” 

“Right.” Erwin walked over to the blanket and sat next to him. 

“Your Ada was right. The view from here is perfect. Thank you for showing me.”

Erwin sighed in relief. “You’re welcome. The performers should be starting soon. We can even come back later this evening. If you want, I mean. We don’t have to. I know this is—”

“I’d love to come back.” Armin smiled. “It’s so beautiful up here. Will we be able to hear what’s going on this high up?” 

Erwin grinned. “That’s the best part of this place. We’ll be able to hear as clearly as if we were sitting in the front row.”

The musicians finally settled in place. Notes filtered up to them as they began to tune. Soon jaunty music filled the air. 

Armin tilted his head. “Is it a spell?”

“No.” Erwin pointed up to the trees. “See how the grove is formed? For some reason, it allows for the sound to be heard well. Ada tried to explain it to me once, but I must have dozed off. I wish I paid more attention to the things he said.” Erwin looked away. “Sorry. This is supposed to be a happy time, and I’m making it sad.” 

“It’s all right.” Armin scooted closer to him. “I love hearing about your Ada. He sounded like a great man.” 

Erwin smiled eyes wistful. “He was. He loved everyone and would do anything to help even if certain people complained about.” 

“You mean your Uncle?” Armin offered pointedly. 

Erwin snorted. “However did you know?”  

“Lucky guess.” Armin shrugged. “But continue.” 

“Even though he was always busy running his portion of the kingdom, he and Adar always made time for me. I miss… I miss everything about him. It’s not even been a year yet, and I can barely remember his voice or how he smelled… It was comforting…Almost like home.” He smiled then laughed. “It was funny because all he had to do was smell you, and he could tell you where you’d been, who you were with, and what you ate for breakfast.” 

Armin stared at him puzzled. “Really?” 

“Oh, yes! Every single time he took a whiff.” Erwin chuckled. “It got me into trouble many a time. Once, I was supposed to be doing my lessons, but a friend of mine had wanted to go out riding. I faked being sick, so I could get out of them. We spent all day out in the fields racing. By the time we got back, it was so late that I had to sneak back into my bed. I thought I was so clever. Then Ada came to check on me.” 

Armin’s eyes widened. “Oh no!”

“He stepped into my room looking concerned, but that changed as soon as he sat on the edge of my bed. I could tell by the look on his face that he knew I was faking and had been riding all day. He asked me how my day was, and I told him that it was horrible.” 

Armin brought his hands up to his lips. “You didn’t?”

“I did. Ada just folded his hands in his lap and said, ‘Then if you thought being sick was horrible, you’ll hate what I’ll have you doing tomorrow.’” 

Armin leaned into Erwin’s side. “What did he make you do?” 

“I spent the morning and afternoon weeding the palace gardens, and when I thought I was done with my punishment, he had me muck the stables and tend to all of the horses. By the time I was done, night had fallen and I was ready to drop. I never skipped a lesson again.” 

“Serves you right.” Armin smiled. 

The current song being play finished, and the new tune began to play. It started off soft and low with flourishes interspersed reminding him of the last dregs of winter. 

“This song is beautiful,” Armin commented.

“It’s to signify the passing of winter and the beginning of spring. Right now, it’s the end of winter. The last snowstorm has passed, and the snow is starting to melt off.” 

The music flowed around them. Armin closed his eyes and listened as Erwin described what he was hearing. Erwin watched Armin’s face at each new flourish and change, relishing in Armin’s facial expressions. Armin looked serene, peaceful. Erwin wanted to lean in and kiss his lips, but he held himself back, knowing that Armin wouldn’t be appreciative. 

As the song finished, Armin opened his eyes and smiled. “That was wonderful. It felt like I was living through the change of the season.” 

Erwin nodded. “It’s actually one part of a larger piece. It has four parts; one for each season. When played all together, you’ll experience an entire year.”    

Armin looked at him in awe. “That’s amazing. Have you ever heard it done?” 

“Mhm. Only once. It’s very long.” 

Armin nodded. “I can only imagine. Do they play each season for the festivals?” 

“Yes. It’s a ritual of sorts to welcome the new season.” 

Armin rested his head on Erwin’s shoulder. “What other sorts of rituals take place?” 

Erwin wrapped an arm around Armin’s waist. “Well, there’s always the tournament of games and the greeting of the first birth. There are also a lot of bonding ceremonies that take place around this time of the year. Spring is about new growth, renewal, and fertility. The symbolism of the season acts like a blessing for the bonding pairs, and many believe that it makes an even stronger foundation for their union. Also, pairs that have yet to complete their bond, exchange family heirlooms as a symbol of their families becoming one.” 

Armin looked down at his lap. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s all right,” Erwin reassured. “I wouldn’t have expected something from you anyway, given your circumstances, but I do wish you would accept my gift to you.”  Erwin pulled out an object wrapped in light blue silk from beneath the basket and handed it to Armin who took it reverently. 

Armin unwrapped the silk to find a gilded mirror. “It’s beautiful.” 

“It was my Ada’s, and it belonged to the High Consort before him. It’s a scrying mirror. I thought that you might like it. You’ll be able to use it to see your family and friends again.”

Armin looked at him sharply. “How does it work?” 

“Just gaze into the mirror and give it the command ‘show me,’ then whatever it is you would like to see.”

“May I use it now?” Armin looked at it eagerly.

“If you’d like, it’s yours now to use as you wish.” 

Armin looked at the mirror’s surface. “Show me my Grandfather.” 

That pronouncement shocked Erwin as he thought that Armin was angry at the man. 

The surface of the mirror rippled for a few moments then smoothed to reveal Armin’s grandfather lying in bed. Bruises littered his face, and he looked pale and sickly with a cough wracking his body.

Tears filled Armin’s eyes. “He’s going to die. He…I have to see him.” He looked at Erwin panicked. “I need to see—”

“Shh,” Erwin wrapped him in his arms. “Everything’s going to be all right.” 

Armin buried his face into Erwin’s neck. “I have to go see him, please.” He looked up at Erwin’s face. “Please. I’ll do anything. I promise. I can’t—please!”

“Shh, it’s going to be okay.” He looked towards the woods behind them. “Berthold?”

From behind the curtain of vines, Berthold appeared. “Yes, my Prince?” 

“I need you to pack everything up and return it to the palace, and once that’s done, meet us at the stables and prepare two horses.”

“Yes, my Prince.” Berthold bowed and got to work. 

“Come, Armin, we have to pack.” 

Armin froze. “You’re letting me go?”

He gripped the sides of Armin’s face, ignoring the slight burn on his collarbone. “Yes, but promise me that you’ll return within a week’s time.” He couldn’t bear it if he didn’t return. 

“I promise.”

Erwin felt relieved. “Thank you. Now let’s get you packed. It’s a half day’s ride to the Wall.” 

***

The Walls of Sina finally loomed in sight. Armin was finally home. 

The clothes he’s wearing felt foreign against his body. They were the same clothes he wore all those months ago. He never expected to wear them again, just like he never expected to return to these walls. 

Armin looked beside him. Erwin was stone-faced as he stared at the walls in front of him. Armin didn’t want to hurt him, but he had to see his Grandfather, even if the man had lied to him his entire life. 

“I promise I will return.” 

Erwin just nodded. He hadn’t spoken since they left the palace.

“How will I find my way back? I’m afraid that I’ll get lost along the way.” 

“Use the mirror.”

“But I left it behind. I didn’t want to lose it.” 

Erwin smirked. “I saw that you left it on your desk, so I packed it in your bag. I figured you’d need it to find your way back to me.” 

Armin smiled. “What do I do?” 

“Command the mirror saying ‘lead me to’ and it will show you where to go. As you get closer to the right location, the mirror will glow.” 

Armin grabbed his pack from the side saddle of his horse. “Thank you, for everything.” 

Erwin wrapped him up in his arms. “You can thank me when you return.” 

Armin leaned into his embrace, burying his face into Erwin’s chest, breathing in his scent. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

“I know you will.” Erwin let him go. “You need to go while the sun’s still out.” 

Armin nodded his head, and turned his back to him, walking towards where he knew the secret door would be. 

Armin didn’t tell Erwin goodbye, nor did he look back. He wouldn’t be able to do this if he did.  

He walked up to the wall and pressed his hand against it. The door slowly appeared before him, and when it was finished he opened it to walk through. On the other side, the doorkeeper was nowhere to be seen in the alleyway. Armin shrugged it off, more focused on getting to Grandfather than anything else. 

He made his way through the streets as fast as he could to the bookshop. When he got there, he noticed that the windows were shuttered, but the door remained unlocked. He opened it cautiously, peeking around the crack, but he saw nothing. The shop was dark, and a layer of dust coated everything. He shut the door behind him.

He walked back to their living quarters, but they appeared much like the shop: empty and covered in dust. Tears sprang to his eyes. Was he too late? 

He rushed out of his house and shop only to run straight into the metal plated chests of the Kings’ guards. 

“Well, what do we have here?” The man leered down at him.

“Please, I need to find my Grandfather.” Armin tried to push past the man, but to no avail.  

“You’re not going anywhere. We’ve been ordered to bring anyone that opened these door’s immediately to the palace.” The man grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. 

Armin struggled. “Let me go!” 

“Quit your yapping!” The guard snarled at him. 

Armin kicked at his knees. “I said let me go! You’re hurting me!” 

The guard just grunted and threw him over his shoulder. That’s when Armin noticed a crowd had gathered in the streets.

“Help,” he cried, but no one came to his aid. “Please someone! I have to get to my Grandfather!” The people only stared as he was being taken away. “Please,” he whimpered. He searched the crowd for a kind eye, but no one would face him. Armin closed his eyes in defeat. He’d never see his Grandfather or Erwin again.


	16. The Prince let him go out of love not realizing it was a trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King, reunions, an unexpected meeting

The palace was in chaos when Erwin returned. Servants and nobles rushed about, and a somber air settled around the people.

No one stopped to answer his questions.

No one even realized that he was there.

He rushed through the halls to find Levi, and when he did, all he received was scorn.

“Where the fuck have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you?” Levi glared at him.

“I was—”

“Fuck it. We don’t have time for explanations. The King collapsed.”

That was all Erwin needed to hear before he ran all the way to his Adar’s rooms. When he arrived, the bed chambers were a flurry of movement. Healer Grisha barked out orders and his aides rushed to fulfill them. In the center of it all, his Adar laid in bed, pale and trembling.

“Erwin,” he groaned. “Where is my son?”

“Here.” Erwin rushed to his bedside. “I’m right here, Adar.”

“My beautiful boy.” Adar tilted his head to face him, eyes clouded over. “I’m going to see your Ada soon.”

“No,” Erwin rasped. “You were supposed to have more time. I need more time.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.” Tears leaked from his unseeing eyes as he reached out his hand to stroke Erwin’s face. Erwin took his Adar’s palm and rested it on his cheek seeking warmth, but all he felt was cold.

His Adar was leaving him, just like his Ada did. He was going to be alone. He had no one left.

“Prince Erwin, I need to speak with you.”

Erwin turned to find Healer Grisha standing behind him. He looked back at his Adar. “I’ll be right back, Adar.” He squeezed his hand and stood following the healer to an empty corner of the room. “How long does he have?”

“He won’t last the week. The wards need to be transferred as soon as possible.”

“But you said that he had a year! We need more time.” Erwin growled. 

“I’m sorry, but I miscalculated. Handling both sets of wards must have taken a larger toll than I anticipated.” Grisha looked down at his collar bone noting the last remaining patch of skin yet to be marked. “You haven’t completed the gifts? What about your mate?”

“He still has two more to go.”

“They must be completed immediately. Where is he? You need to send for him.”

Erwin shook his head. “He’s gone,” he voiced in little more than a whisper.

“What? Gone where?”

Erwin couldn’t answer him.

Grisha gripped his shoulders and shook him. “Erwin, where did he go?”

“Home,” he sniffled. “I let him go home, and now my Adar is going to die.”

“You did what?!” Grisha recoiled in shock.

“He promised to return to me at the week’s end, but it’ll be too late.” Erwin looked to his Adar brow creased. “Transfer the wards to me,” he demanded.

“No.”

Erwin turned to face Grisha, face grim. “Transfer the wards to me.” His tone brooked no room for argument.

Grisha crossed his arms. “We cannot in good conscience transfer the wards to someone unmated.”

Erwin stood to his full imposing height. “I’m not giving you any choice in the matter. As your Crown Prince, I am ordering you to have the wards transferred to me immediately.”

Grisha bowed his head in deference. “Yes, my Prince. I’ll send for the ceremony preparations immediately.” He bowed fully and walked over to a servant whispering his orders in his ear. The servant left, and Grisha looked back at Erwin, eyes drawn, lips pursed. “It’s done.”

Yes, it was.

Erwin ignored everyone around him and made his way back to his Adar’s bed. He climbed in next to him, curling into his side as he used to when he was an elfling, and wept.

Those still in the room left him to grieve because once the wards were transferred, there would be no more room for tears.

Once the wards were transferred, he would have a country to run.

He had no room for weakness to show.

***

“Where are you taking me?” Armin questioned, but the guard carrying him refused to answer. “I demand that you answer me!”

The guard just grunted.

Armin sighed in defeat. Where ever they were going, it was quite a long way away from the shop. He noticed that the homes and shops were getting nicer and more extravagant. He gasped. “Are we going to the palace?”

The guard growled, “If you don’t shut your trap, you’ll be dead before we get there, reward be damned.”

Armin snapped his mouth shut, and they continued in silence. 

Once they got closer, the guard set him down. “Can’t have you looking like a prisoner. Now walk.” The guard gave him a shove, forcing Armin to walk in front of him. “And if you try to run, you’ll regret it.”

Armin looked over his shoulder at the guard and glared before walking ahead. Soon the palace gates loomed into view. Guards were posted on either side and moved to block their entry.

“What business do you have with the King,” the guard on the right asked.

“I have found the missing Prince, and I’ve come to collect the reward,” the guard said smugly.

The guard on the left stepped forward to get a better look at Armin. He stepped back. “Open the gate,” he cried. The large gates slowly swung inward, revealing the path to the main doors.

“Reiner, take these men to the King.”

A tall burly blond with a familiar face nodded his head and beckoned them forward. “This way.” Reiner lead them to the palace doors. Once inside, Reiner motioned to a nearby servant. “Please alert the King and Queen that someone has found the missing Prince.” The girl curtsied and ran off.

Reiner continued leading them from corridor to corridor until they reached a set of gilded double doors. He nodded to the men standing guard, and they open doors revealing the King and Queen sitting on the throne. Reiner stepped forward and bowed. “Your Majesties, this man claims to have returned to you your missing son.”  

The King nodded his head. “You may go.”

Reiner bowed again, and left the room, heavy doors closing behind him.

“Please, child, step forward, so that I may see you.”

Armin hesitated.

“You don’t have to be so nervous. We won’t hurt you, boy.” The Queen smiled at him.

Armin shuffled forward until he was standing directly in front of them. The King stood and stepped closer. He reached out a hand and brushed his cheek reverently.

“You look just like your mother,” he rasped, voice thick. “And now you’ve finally been returned to me, my son. You’ve finally come home.” He turned to the side of his throne. “Servant, see to it that this man gets his reward for bringing my son back to me.” The servant bowed, leading the guard out the room. 

Armin stepped away from him. “This isn’t my home. I didn’t grow up here. You didn’t raise me.” He shook his head. “I don’t belong here.”

“Armin, if you would let me explain—”

“What is there for you to explain? There’s nothing that you can say that will change anything. I may be the true Crown Prince, but I don’t want the title.” He had one that was more important to him than that.

The Queen turned to his husband. “Darling, if I may?”

The King gestured in the affirmative as he sat down.

“Armin, we have been protecting you for all these years. You see, when your father found out that you were the destined soul mate to an elf, he feared for our Kingdom. Your mother had a very difficult pregnancy and was told that another one would surely kill her. Your father was afraid that if you were forced to marry the only child of an Elven King, it would leave our Kingdom without an heir to take his place. So, your father devised a plan to keep you safe from them.

“A trusted servant was meant to take you far from the capital and to keep you hidden while raising you to take the throne one day. Your father didn’t know that his wife would die so soon after. It left him so heartbroken…” The Queen looked away and sniffled. “I’m just glad that I was there to help ease his pain.” The King took his hand. “When we learned that you were here, we sent out men to bring you back to us. We didn’t know that those very elves we were protecting you from would interfere and kidnap you, and somehow poor Klaus was injured in the fray.”

Armin stared at them in disbelief. His Grandfather was perfectly fine when Erwin stole him away.  Something wasn’t right here. “He was injured?”

“Yes.” The Queen whimpered. “Now he’s clinging to his death bed. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for those nasty elves.” He glared at the floor. “But now we have a means of taking our revenge.” He turned his gaze to Armin. “Tell us where they are.”

Armin narrowed his eyes. “Why would I? I know you’re lying about Grandfather. He was perfectly fine when I was taken, but now he’s clinging to his death bed? You did something to him.”

“How dare you accuse my wife of wrong doing? You may be my son, but you will not disrespect the Queen.”

The Queen held out his arm to wave the King off. “Worry not, husband. I can take care of this one myself.” He stood, walking towards Armin. “Now you listen here, I have done away with people much more difficult and dangerous than you, so if you wish to keep your life I suggest that you tell me what I want to know.” He stopped directly in front of Armin, resting a palm on his cheek as if to comfort him. 

Armin spit in his face. “I won’t tell you anything. I refuse to doom an entire race to whatever terror you have planned.”

 “You will regret that,”  the Queen sighed wiping his face and standing at his full height. “Guards! Guards! Help,” he cried out panicked.

The doors flung open as men flooded the room.

“This boy has harmed me.” The Queen eyed him smugly.

The guards grabbed a hold of Armin, but he struggled to fight them off. “I did nothing of the sort you bastard!”

A guard punched him in the gut, and Armin doubled over in pain. “You will not speak to the Queen in that manner.” 

The Queen gasped. “No wonder why you won’t help us.” He walked over and tore off his shirt. “He’s courting one of them!” He turned back to the King. “He’s a traitor.”

The King’s eyes turned cold. “Lock him up with the other prisoner, and search his things. He probably planned to kill us to prove his loyalty to them.”

They dragged Armin from the room. He could barely breathe through the pain emanating from his chest. His lungs burned. His head swam. None of this would have happened if he had just stayed with Erwin. He was an idiot, and now he was going to be tortured possibly even killed for information that he didn’t even have. Yes, he had the mirror, but one would have to know how to use it to get the answers they sought, and there was no way he was going to spill its secrets. Erwin’s people were doomed either way, but at least if he died, he would die with his conscience clean.

Before he even realized it, he was being thrown into a room. The impact with the floor knocked the wind of him, and before he could even attempt to escape, the door was slammed and locked behind him. When he could breathe normally, he tried banging on the door and calling out for help, but no one came.

“Fuck,” he cried. He collapsed against the door. Tears were welling in his eyes. It was over. There was no going back now. He had to accept his fate as a prisoner and a dead man. Why did he make the choice to leave?

Groans sounded in the room. Armin turned to find a bed. He stood and walked over to see who was in there with him. The person lay on their side, so he couldn’t see their face. He walked around to the other side of the bed, and when he got there, his heart stopped.

“Grandfather?”

The man lying in the bed opened his eyes. “Armin? Is that you?”

“Yes,” Armin choked out. “It’s me. I’m back.”

Tears fell from his eyes. “I’m so sorry, my boy. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” Armin collapsed on the bed, curling into his Grandfather’s side.

Their shared tears mingled on the pillow as they commiserated in their shared fate.

Both knew they wouldn’t leave the room alive.

***

Sasha and Connie pounded on the door glancing up at the windows that were brightly lit. It was clear that someone was home, but no one came to the door.

“Maybe we should try back later?” Connie hunched his shoulders.

“No. This is too important. I’m not leaving until someone answers.” Sasha continued pounding. “Hello,” she yelled. “Open the stupid—”

The door suddenly opened revealing a maid. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re going to wake the whole neighborhood.”

Connie pushed Sasha aside. “We need to speak to Jean.”

The maid looked them up and down. “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you in,” she sneered.

Sasha wanted to kill her. This was an emergency, but the maid only seemed to be concerned about their class. Sasha tried to step forward, but Connie continued to block her.

“If you just told him Connie Springer and Sasha Braus are at the door, I’m sure that he’d—”

“I’m sorry sir and madam, but the Kirstein’s don’t take visitors of any kind this late. You’ll have to return in the morning. Now, good night.”

The maid tried closing the door, but Sasha blocked her. “Look, lady, this can’t wait until tomorrow, this is important. Now I need you to go inside and get Jean now.”

“That’s not happening. Now if you don’t leave I’m going to send for the sheriff.” The tried closing the door again, but Sasha pushed her way into the house.

“Excuse me!”  The maid chased after her.

“Jean,” Sasha called out. “Jean, it’s Sasha and Connie! Come to the door!”

“Miss, you’re going to disrupt the house—”

“What in the bloody blazes is going on, Marie?”

They turned to see Jean walking down the stairs. “These ruffians won’t leave sir.” She glared at them.

Sasha glared right back. “Jean, tell this woman that it’s okay for us to come in.”

“It’s okay Marie, I’ll handle this.” Jean guided Sasha outside closing the door behind them. “What are you guys doing here so late? You’re lucky my parents are out of town.”

“It’s Armin. He’s been taken to the palace.”  


End file.
